Robot dogs that can defuse explosives are set to revolutionise bomb disposal operations and significantly reduce the risk to military personnel, whether operating in the UK or overseas.

A new live trial led by Ministry of Defence scientists has seen advanced robotic systems, including robot dogs, successfully detecting, and defusing bomb threats.Â

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) trials took place over four days and included:Â Â Â

• Remote classification and identification of threats using sensors on robots;Â Â
• Defusing of bombs from a robot dog;Â Â
• Drones with AI autonomous threat and people detection;Â Â Â
• And robots conducting tasks such as opening doors and climbing stairs. Â

The trial supports key components of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, safeguarding national security whilst rapidly advancing new technologies – showing defence as an engine for growth. Â

Dstl worked alongside British and international industry, L3Harris, Marlborough Communications Ltd and AeroVironment (Tomahawk Robotics) on the trials which showed that they could enhance Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) capability by:Â Â

• Reducing the need to put a bomb disposal operator in harm’s way by increasing the number of tasks that robots can perform remotely;Â Â
• Improving the effectiveness of robots, reducing the burden to the operator, allowing delicate and precision movements to be completed reliably;Â
• Using drones equipped with AI to identify threats and monitor safety cordons, increasing the pace of operations and reducing disruption to the public. Â

The trials involved a series of scenarios, where the robot was asked to perform various tasks including opening and closing doors autonomously, navigating stairs, inspecting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and consequently firing disruptors at the IEDs to render them safe.Â

These innovations will transform EOD operations by minimising the human exposure to danger, improving operational efficiency and maintaining public safety. Â

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