http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/p/2008-05-13/0933499847.html
美軍目前已經裝備部署2000輛魔爪軍用機器人
http://www.sina.com.cn 2008年05月13日 09:33 北方科技資訊研究所
據法國《防務宇航》2008年5月8日報導 本週二,英國奎奈蒂克(QinetiQ)公司北美分公司福斯特•米勒公司(Foster-Miller)宣佈,該公司目前已經向美國軍事部門完成交付了第2000輛“魔爪”(TALON)軍用機器人。據分析,與其他型號機器人相比,“魔爪”軍用機器人在今後一段時間內還將會更多地被繼續大量採購和部署。
目前,“魔爪”軍用機器人目前被大量部署到阿富汗和伊拉克等地區,其最為首要的任務是輔助軍事人員完成一些極端危險的工作,如偵察和拆除敵方部隊為攻擊已方部隊而設置的路邊炸彈及其一些簡易爆炸裝置(IED)。據悉,“魔爪”軍用機器人能夠在不裝備爆炸物處理裝置(EOD)和戰鬥工程設備的情況下遙控拆除簡易爆炸裝置。
此前,在執行任務時損壞了大批軍用機器人,但是,這些軍用機器人目前已經在“機器人醫院”通過聯合機器人修復設備被快速的修復。“魔爪”軍用機器人同樣也能夠在爆炸損壞之後經修復重新返回戰場繼續工作,就目前的統計數來看,每一台“魔爪”軍用機器人平均可經受“爆炸損壞—修復—返回戰場”這種反復10次以上。事實證明“魔爪”軍用機器人確實具有很強的耐用性和持久性。
“魔爪”軍用機器人于2000年被首次部署。自2001年至2007年3月,福斯特•米勒公司先後向美國軍事部門交付了1000輛“魔爪”軍用機器人。而在2007年4月至2008年5月這僅僅的13個月時間裏,“魔爪”軍用機器人的採購和交付總數卻達到了2000輛,遠遠超過了其他型號機器人的增長速度。
此外,自2000年以來,“魔爪”軍用機器人的生產線已經被一再擴大,“魔爪”軍用機器人可以執行的任務也擴大到了簡易爆炸裝置拆除、偵察、危險品操作、戰鬥工程支援和SWAT/MP部隊輔助等領域。 (北方科技資訊研究所 仲崇慧)
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.29470247.1189675018.zNjVVX8AAAEAAGm2F2wAAAAH&modele=jdc_34
2,000th TALON Military Robot Deployed
(Source: QinetiQ North America; issued May 6, 2008)
MCLEAN, Va. --- QinetiQ North America, a global developer of innovative technology solutions for national defense, today announced that the Foster-Miller subsidiary of its Technology Solutions Group has delivered the 2,000th TALON robot to the U.S. military. More TALON robots are deployed with the U.S. military than any other robot.
TALON robots are deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, primarily to assist military personnel with the extremely dangerous job of detecting and disabling roadside bombs -- the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by hostile forces to attack troops. The TALON robot is able to remotely disarm the IED without placing the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and combat engineers in harm's way.
Many robots have been damaged in their mission, some multiple times, but today they are rapidly repaired by military personnel at Joint Robot Repair facilities located throughout the world, a type of robot hospital. TALON robots, on average, can be repaired after blast damage and returned to service more than 10 times, before complete replacement is necessary -- a testament to TALON's ruggedness and sustainability.
TALON robots were first deployed in 2000, when EOD teams in Bosnia used the robots to safely remove and dispose of live grenades. In 2001, TALON robots were used at the World Trade Center, searching through the rubble for 45 days and nights to help find survivors and victims. The robots were also used to evaluate the structural integrity of the Hudson River's retaining walls.
According to Dr. William Ribich, President of the Technology Solutions Group, QinetiQ North America, this performance demonstrated TALON's ruggedness, ease of use and ability to withstand repeated decontaminations without failure and led to the deployment of TALON in record numbers for service in Afghanistan and Iraq.
From 2001 to 2007 the company delivered 1,000 TALON robots to the U.S. military. Today, just 13 months later, the number of deployed TALON robots has doubled to reach 2,000 -- far surpassing any other military-use robot.
"Our government and our company are dedicated to finding innovative solutions that better protect our warfighters," said Ribich. "The TALON robot has helped save thousands of EOD and combat engineers from injury or possible death in the performance of their primary mission of disarming IEDs."
Since its initial deployment in 2000, the TALON product line has expanded to include robots devoted to specific tasks, such as IED disarmament, reconnaissance, hazardous materials work, combat engineering support and SWAT/MP unit assistant. The TALON robot is modular, allowing for many types of mission-specific arm attachments and negating the need for multiple, specialized robots. It is also man-portable, easily transported and instantly ready for action. TALON moves as fast as its human counterpart on flat terrain, is highly mobile in rough and urban terrain, and has the longest battery life of all in-theatre ground robots.
The family of TALON robots has grown both smaller and larger in size with the respective robotic developments of Dragon Runner and MAARS this year. These new robots address the military's need for standoff protection from the enemy, over and above the successful use of TALON for counter-IED missions. According to Ribich, this expansion of the TALON line of robots is QinetiQ North America's response to the military's growing interest in using robots not only for combat support, but for future combat operations as well.
"We're developing and expanding our line of products to meet the military's future needs because we're dedicated to delivering the best robotic solutions in the industry," added Ribich. "With today's full logistics pipeline for robot maintenance, training and support, we're entering a new era of military robotics, and TALON robots stand ready to assist troops on any battlefield in the world."
QinetiQ North America provides world-class technology and responsive solutions to U.S. government customers. With more than 5,500 engineers, scientists and professionals working in partnership with customers, QNA develops innovative technology solutions to meet the challenges of national defense, homeland security and information access. QinetiQ North America is part of QinetiQ Group plc, one of the world's leading defense and security technology companies.
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