Ukrainian volunteers created sapper robot for the military and rescuers
Engineers and students of the School of Robotics in Zaporizhzhia created a sapper robot for the needs of the Ukrainian troops and emergency responders.
What is the problem?
Due to Russian hardened aggression, Ukraine has become the most mined country in the world. The de-occupied area contaminated with mines is currently the size of about 45,000 square kilometers, but with the complete liberation, the mined space will increase by about 190,000 square kilometers.
The State Emergency Service says the most mined areas are Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson regions and Donbas. It will take at least 10 years to clear these areas.
Zaporizhzhia developers say that before the war, the robot was designed to work in a civilian environment. It was supposed to be used in the energy sector or agriculture.
What is the solution?
The full-scale invasion made its own adjustments and forced the developers to adapt the invention for a new job, namely demining Ukrainian territories.
This project is a joint development of teachers and students of the School of Robotics.
How does it work?
The robot is equipped with video cameras, and a special mechanical arm.
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The robot can be useful for military engineers, so that they can safely survey the territory, and rescuers of the State Emergency Service during controlled explosive detonations.
"The robot will be useful to a sapper when he needs to get to the place where an object has landed. In addition, it will help to walk through terrain with tripwires. It also has cameras that help to clearly identify objects," the developers said.
The robot costs around $5,000 for one to purchase.
The State Employment Service (SES) has launched a programme to train civilians for a sapper specialty with a financial support worth.