By Mark Bowes, The Associated Press
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| The Andros Mark V runs through a bomb-detecting exercise. The $146K robot was funded by a Homeland Security grant. |
| By Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch |
RICHMOND, Va. - First Sgt. Vern Hall isn’t young enough to be part of the video-game generation, but that hasn’t stopped him from learning the tricks of a good gamer.
Part of Hall’s job requires the eye-hand control skills of an accomplished gamer, but he doesn’t use them to play the latest video-game titles. Nor does he operate in a world of virtual reality.
The stakes are much higher and the dangers more real in Hall’s world. As a hazardous-devices technician and bomb and arson supervisor for the Virginia State Police, Hall remotely operates a $146,000 police robot in potentially life-and-death situations.
“It’s still new to us,” Hall said of the robot technology. “We’re still playing with it, trying to get used to it. The skills to operate it are very perishable.”
“I didn’t grow up in the joystick video-game era,” added Hall, who says continuous practice is a must.
Using funds from a federal Homeland Security grant, state police have purchased a squad of robots - eight in all - that have been deployed around the state to remove bombs, thwart hostage-takers and provide critical surveillance data.
“It’s easier to replace than a human,” Hall said. “That’s why we use it.”
The robots collectively cost the department about $1.1 million. Authorities purchased three of the largest available models, known as the Andros Mark V, and five smaller units, called Andros F6A, from REMOTEC Inc., a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman.
Each of the agency’s seven field offices has at least one of the all-terrain, multi-tracked robots complete with gripper arms, TV cameras and two-way audio systems that allow operators to talk with a hostage-taker or barricaded gunman.
Some models are even equipped with a remotely triggered shotgun that can fire 12-gauge shells or other projectiles, depending on the circumstances.
The Andros Mark V is no Robocop or R2-D2-like droid from the “Star Wars” movies. They depend on specially trained officers such as Hall to command their movements with a briefcase-style controller, complete with joystick.
The robots have four cameras so the operator can see what it is doing - from a variety of angles - on a control-panel screen. They can climb 45-degree stairs and over obstacles up to 24-inches high and are powered by a rechargeable 24-volt battery system, according to REMOTEC, the manufacturer.
With the new units, delivered 18 months ago, state police now own 10 robots. Two of them are used exclusively for surveillance operations by the department’s clandestine technical units.
A smaller version of the robot Hall operates was used two weeks ago to help capture a murder suspect who had eluded Westmoreland County authorities for three months.
During a standoff with the suspect in King and Queen County, the robot was sent into a home to search for the man without putting an officer in danger. The robot, equipped with cameras and a listening device, let police know the suspect was hiding in the attic. Police then used tear gas to force him out.
The man, James O’Neal Kelly, 23, of Oldhams, was taken into custody without incident and charged with murder in the shooting death of a Waldorf, Md., man during a Fourth of July party.
Closer to Richmond, the robot that Hall and several of his colleagues command was used Oct. 6 to remove a suspicious package from a well-traveled area of the DuPont plant in Chesterfield County.
To reach the box, Special Agent John Madding had to maneuver the robot into and out of a freight elevator. The robot grabbed the package - on which the words “Watch me, I’ll go boom” were scrawled - and carried it outside, where it could be safely examined.
There, the robot’s gripper arm was used to open the box, enabling police to remotely peer inside with one of the robot’s cameras.
Chesterfield police later arrested David P. Dufrene, an outside contractor for Dupont, for allegedly planting the hoax device and making a series of telephoned bomb threats to the company beginning on Sept. 11.
The robot’s first mission came in March during a highly publicized standoff inside a Chesterfield plumbing company. After repeated failed attempts over seven hours to communicate with the suspect - a 56-year-old former employee armed with two guns - authorities sent the robot into the rear of the building to scan the interior.
The robot was also used to block one of the doors to prevent the suspect from flanking SWAT team members, who eventually stormed the building. The maneuver worked, with officers safely apprehending the suspect without incident.
On a recent rainy day, Hall stared into a video monitor inside an enclosed trailer, ready to put Andros through its paces in a grassy area near the State Police Training Academy.
On Hall’s command, the 600-pound robot - using its optional wheels instead of treads - scooted forward at a speed that would require a human to walk briskly to keep pace. Hall used Andros’ onboard cameras - which sent images back to his monitor - to guide the robot over the terrain.
The 5-1/2-foot-long, 3-foot-wide robot made sharp turns with ease, and moved back and forth like a soldier on drill. At one point Hall eased the robot toward a large cooler and, using the gripper arm, deftly opened the lid to take a look inside.
Similar demonstrations have been given at local schools, where Andros has become a hit among children.
“We’ve taken Coke cans out of students’ hands with the robot,” Hall said. “We say, ‘Don’t move, don’t move, we’re not going to bite ya.’