Explosive ordinance disposal technology demonstration using the telerobotic small emplacement excavator

The small emplacement excavator (SEE) is a ruggedized military vehicle with backhoe and front loader used by the US Army for explosive ordinance disposal (EOD), combat engineer, and general utility excavation activities. In order to evaluate the feasibility of removing personnel from the vehicle during the high risk EOD excavation tasks a development and demonstration project was initiated to evaluate performance capabilities of the SEE under telerobotic control. This feasibility study was performed at the request of the Ordinance Missile and Munitions Center and School (OMMCS) at the Redstone Arsenal to help define requirements for further joint service development activities. Development of a telerobotic SEE (TSEE) was performed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in a project funded jointly by the US Army Project Manager for Ammunition Logistics (PM-AMMOLOG) and the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Development (OTD) Robotics Technology Development Program (RTDP). A technology demonstration of the TSEE was conducted at McKinley Range, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, on September 13--17, 1993. The primary objective of the demonstration was to evaluate and demonstrate the feasibility of remote EOD. During the demonstration, approximately 40 EOD specialists were instructed on telerobotic operation of the TSEE and then were asked to complete a series of simulated EOD tasks. Upon completion of the tasks, participants completed an evaluation of the system including human factors performance data.