By Geoff Fein
QinetiQ Tuesday put on display their latest low-cost, lightweight robotic systems designed for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams.
The company had the units on display at the Modern Day Marine expo at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
Built off of its Dragon Runner (DR) Basic, Automatika, co-owned by QinetiQ, has developed the DR15, a 15-pound system and the DR20, a 20-pound system. Both robotic platforms were introduced within the past few months, said Hagen Schempf, group director of Automatika.
DR Basic, a lightweight four-wheeled platform, was built for the Marine Corps, Schempf said. The new DR15 and DR20 variants both come with tracks.
The two new systems developed for EOD teams can carry a variety of payloads from multi axis manipulator arms to small unit sensor systems that can be reconfigured in the field, he added.
The units can reach speeds upward of 20 miles an hour and can operate for two to four hours on a lithium ion rechargeable battery, Schempf said.
DR15 and DR20 can both be carried in a backpack. “This is smaller, lower cost and lighter [weight],” Schempf added.