Robots Help Search for Survivors in NY

Posted 13 Sep 2001 at 05:08 UTC by steve

AP is reporting that dozens of tiny Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) robots are searching for survivors in the rubble of the World Trade Center buildings in New York. From the description, these sound like the shape shifting USAR robots developed at the University of South Florida Robot Lab after the Oklahoma City bombing. They are sold by RWI. The small, treaded robots can flatten themselves to fit into tiny spaces and expand their treads to get over large irregular objects. Some of the robot may carry FLIR thermal imaging equipment as well as video cameras. These robots run the Linux OS. An article about the robots is available in IEEE Intelligent Systems online magazine.