- There's a saying that EOD techs,
we're a jack of all trades, but we are masters of demolition.
Blowing stuff up... that's the crème de la crème
of being an EOD tech.
- There are likely over 100 million
unexploded bombs scattered across the globe.
Every day, U.S. Air Force members
are putting themselves in harm's way,
working to disarm, disable, and dismantle them.
- Absolutely it's a scary mission.
These devices can explode at any time.
The service men and women who use our robots
are always putting their life on the line.
- Every single step you're thinking,
'is there something else I could be doing?
Is there something else that I should do?
Is this the best choice?'
- These bombs could explode at any moment,
hurting or killing anyone around.
- The only thing the suit's gonna do
is just keep the pieces together.
Start remote, stay remote is one
of our big mantras.
- At Endeavor Robotics,
they build robots that allow service men
and women to do just that.
Their bots let military personnel
dismantle bombs remotely instead of
having to go in themselves.
- We wanna remove folks from harm's way.
We take this job very seriously
as robot designers and as human beings
to make sure that we're really helping personnel
avoid those dangerous situations.
- The robot goes down range to interact
with the device and the operator can do that
from a safe distance away.
We want to give them the best technology that we can,
the most cutting edge technology.
- Our robots are equipped with a manipulator
that allows the operator to interrogate the device
and move it, open it up and look inside.
- It's a lot of fun, honestly.
You get to drive around this robot
and go do all kinds of cool stuff.
- If a robot is equipped with a disruptor
than it's able to fire the disruptor
and neutralize the device.
It can shoot out a water shot
and destroy the suspicious object.
- Our robots contain a variety of different technology.
They're packed with computers
that can run sophisticated algorithms
so that they can navigate autonomously.
They can build their own maps,
they can do object recognition through their cameras.
They can detect radiation and toxic gases.
- These robots are incredibly high-tech,
but it wasn't always this way.
- When we started out we had a 700 pound,
it looked like a tank,
rumbling down the road to where as now
we have robots that are small enough
we can throw in a backpack and just go.
- Our FirstLook robot is a five pound throwable robot
so you can imagine a scenario
where we've got troops coming up to a structure.
Well, we don't know what's in that structure
and we wanna avoid putting our service men
and women in harm's way.
We do that by just throwing the FirstLook
through a window or an opening
and the letting the robot be the first set
of eyes inside the building.
- Small robots serve their purpose
but sometimes bigger robots are the only way
to get the job done.
- Every situation's a little bit different.
Sometimes you need a big robot
to go interrogate a vehicle because you think
there might be a vehicle-based IED.
Is that car laden with explosives?
You might have to tear open the trunk.
You might have to smash through the window
or tear open the door to figure out
if in fact that car was a threat.
- Whether they're five or 500 pounds,
robots of all sizes are crucial players in military tactics.
- Robots can never replace a person.
The robots will really allow personnel
to focus on their jobs, allow removing
the really dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs
and letting the robots do that.
- It's not just your life that depends on it,
it's the life of your brother standing next to you.
- It's absolutely critical that we employ
the best technology, the best robotic technology
to keep our Air Force personnel safe.
Handling dangerous devices
and this is the type of technology
that can keep them out of harm's way.
- Everyone here at Endeavor Robotics
is proud to be helping our service men and women
with their jobs and help bring them home safely.
Even on those tough days you're like
'hey, at the end of the day we're supplying robots
that will help save a persons life and that's worth it.'
- This episode was presented by the U.S. Air Force.
Learn more at airforce.com.
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check out this one right here.
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