Army to get indigenous IED disposal robot tomorrow!

[bhramos]

India's first improvised explosive device (IED) disposal robot, Daksh, will be handed over to the army authorities in the city on Monday.

A total of five units of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) developed by the Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) (R&DE[E]), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory, will be handed over to the army.

In an interview to DNA on Saturday, head of robotics, R&DE(E), Alok Mukherjee, said that Daksh, which was developed and manufactured in India at the cost of Rs1.7 crore each, was half the cost of imported robots. Mukherjee said that Daksh had surpassed similar category robots from the UK on 20 counts in recent comparison tests.

The robot was part of a package that also included a carrier vehicle, which could carry the robot, six personnel, a master control station, accessories and spares.

According to Mukherjee, the primary job of the robot was to detect a hidden IED or a bomb and diffuse it. Daksh is a compact robot on wheels which has a manipulator arm with six joints.

The robot, which can travel 500 metre from the master control station, is adept in cross-country situations and could even climb stairs. The operator in the vehicle has access to a portable, X-ray system, which allows him to see the insides of a bag.

"If there is a bomb inside the bag, the robot's water jet disruptor can be activated to diffuse the bomb immediately," Mukherjee said.

Tracing the history of Daksh, Mukherjee said that an opportunity to repair a Canadian robot at the College of Military Engineering in 2001 triggered an interest in the R&DE(E) team to develop an indigenous robot, and this is how the robotics development centre was formed in 2002.

According to Mukherjee, the first prototype of Daksh was produced in May 2005, and the army conducted trials over three years (2006-08) before giving it the thumbs up.

"The army even conducted a comparison trial with a UK-made robot and found that Daksh was better on 20 distinct counts. This is what actually clinched us the deal. The army gave us the bulk production clearance for 20 units of Daksh in September 2011.

We are happy that we could deliver the first five units in just three months," Mukherjee said.

He is confident that the rest of the 15 units would be ready by March 2012.

Mukherjee said that Daksh would be invaluable to the armed forces, the police, the paramilitary forces and airport and railway authorities to track and diffuse IEDs in crowded places.

Mukherjee said Daksh is special because the product is completely indigenous and R&DE (E) has transferred the technology to three Pune-based companies, viz Messrs Dynalog, Theta Controls and Bharat Electronics, which are in a position to manufacture and sell the equipment with a specified royalty to be paid to the DRDO.

"The biggest advantage for the users is that the robot can be easily serviced and repaired in India," he said.

Army to get indigenous IED disposal robot tomorrow - Mumbai - DNA

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Robot looks like it may have a chemical sensor?

 

[nrj]

Army is now getting this thing ??

I took these pics during one of its demo, back in Jan 2008!

 

[W.G.Ewald]

DRDO Daksh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Can neutralise NBC weapons.

 

[utubekhiladi]

 

[indian_sukhoi]

Thanks for the sharing pictures!!!

The wiki article say it carries a Shotgun to break open locked doors. But i couldnt find any shotgun in those pics!!!

DRDO Daksh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

How much difference a chemical can be from a normal bomb.

Do Bomb disposable personals need any extra equipment and training to tackle chemical weapons?

 

[indian_sukhoi]

 

[sayareakd]

wait till they get armed version of this robo, specially made for CT operations.

 

[Payeng]

DRDO Daksh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia....Can neutralise NBC weapons.

Surveying the contaminated area in NBC warfare, as it says in the snaps taken by nrj.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Surveying the contaminated area in NBC warfare, as it says in the snaps taken by nrj.

You can read the posters in the snaps. Your eyes are better than mine.

 

[The Messiah]

This is good news.

Hats off to manufactures

 

[bhramos]

DRDO hands over six Daksh ROVs to Army - Indian Express

 

[bhramos]

wow

Happy with Daksh robots, army wants 100 more

 

[agentperry]

wow

Happy with Daksh robots, army wants 100 more

sooooppperrrr

 

[Nagraj]

Good Job DRDO......

wow

Happy with Daksh robots, army wants 100 more

 

[nrj]

Looks like Army had extensive testing period before they inducted these bots. Almost 4 years of testing!! That itself talks about stringent & panoptic testing parameters of IA. Good job DRDO for passing them all!

Few more snaps taken during its initial demo -

ps: I had to edit pics.

 

[JAISWAL]

Indian Army acquires indigenous mobile robot - Brahmand.com
+++

.
.
PUNE (PTI): The Indian Army on Monday
acquired its first mobile robot - Remotely
Operated Vehicle (ROV) 'Daksh', which will equip
the force to handle and clear improvised
explosives devices and other hazardous objects.
The first batch of six units of a total consignment
of 20 was handed over to the Army in the
premises of the Research and Development
Establishment (Engineers), R&DE(E), part of the
Defence Research and Development Organisation
that has developed the indigenous system, at
Dighi near here.
'Daksh' which can also come handy for anti-
terrorist operations in addition to the battle field
exigencies, will be an "invaluable asset" for the
bomb disposal units of the Army, Major Gen
Rakesh Bassi, Director General (Combat
Engineers), who accepted the ROV on behalf of
the Army, told reporters after the flagging-off
ceremony.
The ROV which underwent extensive user trials in
Jammu and Kashmir prior to limited series
production has "a robust manipulator arm having
six degrees of freedom" which can be extended
to remotely extract IEDs, in addition to a
detachable X-ray equipment that can be used to
confirm the presence of the explosives, he said.
Highlighting the salient features of the "wonderful
achievement" of DRDO, S Guruprasad, Director
(R&DE Engineers) said, "Daksh is capable of
climbing stairs as well as negotiating cross
country terrain and has an on board shotgun for
blasting through door locks and breaking the
windshield to handle likely car bombs."
"It is also capable of towing a suspected vehicle
away from a crowded area," he added.
S Sundaresh, Defence Secretary and Chief
Controller R&D of DRDO, said 'Daksh' has been
developed indigenously with the involvement of
private sector and has strengthened an industrial
base in the country for development of robotics.
He said the the state-of-the-art design of 'Daksh'
offered good export potential with possible
international collaborations.

 

[bhramos]

Pune manufacturers upbeat about vehicle’s prospects - Mumbai - DNA

 

[W.G.Ewald]

If a robot can do the job of this system, all the better.


Fox M93A1 Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Reconnaissance System (NBCRS)