Talon Explosive Ordnance Disposal robot gainfully employed in Baghdad

As robotics, automation and autonomous robotics eventually reach consumers in numbers, we will find uses for cost-efficient, energy-efficient, systems that we have yet to conseive. As the robotic age dawns though, there are already some compelling advantages to using robots. The US Army is using robots to reduce the dangers to Explosive Ordnance Disposal in Baghdad.

BAGHDAD, Iraq January 13, 2005 - Whenever an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician heads downrange, one thing is certain: the robot goes first.

"The cost of losing a robot is not nearly as close as losing a trained EOD person," said Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Carroll, noncommissioned officer in charge of the 184th Ordnance Battalion, an EOD Robotics team from Fort Gillem, Ga., deployed to Baghdad. "Time on target is our biggest danger, and these robots eliminate us from having to go downrange if we don't have to."

Since their EOD inception, robotic systems have saved numerous lives by helping to wipe away the threat of improvised explosive devices and vehicle- orne IEDs encountered daily throughout the Iraqi theater of operations.

Not surprisingly, 95 percent of all EOD robots are used for reconnaissance missions and delivering explosives to the hazard for detonation, said Carroll.

"We wouldn't have EOD guys if we didn't have robots to take the hit," he explained about the constant number of IED casualties along main supply routes and in close-quarter urban areas. "These robots are a human cost-saving mechanism."

In addition to taking an IED blast, EOD robots also get shot at by small arms fire, added Carroll.

These "man-portable" robots, initially employed by infantry units for advance scouting purposes, dually serve as multi-versatile, lightweight machines supplementing EOD teams on the roads of Iraq.

"The IED threat is so critical," said Cpt. Jason Souza, officer in charge of the 184th EOD Robotics team. He added that the EOD missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan have exceeded the demand for robots.

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