A bomb squad robot attempts to clear a room that has a very confusing environment (lights, sound, strobe effects, etc.). (Photo by Randy Montoya)
In May, Sandia teamed with Los Alamos National Laboratory to conduct the 9th Annual Western National Robot Rodeo. Bomb squads from across the country competed in emergency scenarios that required their robots to perform life-saving actions (see photo above). Nine teams competed, with top honors going to the Dona Ana County Sherriff’s Office. In June, a Sandia team demonstrated its walking humanoid emergency response robot, WANDERER (see image below), at the DARPA Robotics Challenge. WANDERER’s novel energy-efficient actuation and drive-train technologies will enable much longer emergency response missions without recharging batteries. (6500) IHNS, GNAS
