Low-cost robot to defuse bombs

It was like a dream come true for Biju Varkey who put his lifetime savings to develop a robot to defuse bombs. The machine, which is yet to be launched in the market, could be a breakthrough in defusing bombs due to its incredibly low cost.

Varkey, a post graduate in physics, during a stint in the Punjab Police as consultant realised how important it was to defuse a bomb manually. After one year of intensive research, he developed Merlyn D3 (Detect-Defuse-Destroy) ModularFlexible Chassis Bomb Disposal Robot Systems.

Varkey, who hails from Kerala, gave it a vehicular shape and a humanoid form to make it more versatile.

He said the robot was equipped with 360 degree rotating power and an enhanced manipulator dexterity to carry out even the most difficult operations. The 60 kg robot is made up of inter-operating modular blocks.

Despite financial constraints, the Patiala-based scientist decided to pursue his ambition independently without any alliance with any university. He set up Vetrad Systems at Patiala to design and develop the bomb disposal robotic systems.

"A tie-up would have hampered my R&D. I worked 20 hours a day," he said, acknowledging the support of his wife, who is the head of the department of computer Science at Punjabi University, Patiala.

Varkey wants to showcase his product at the International Fire & Security Exhibition & Conference, to be held from October 25-27, at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

"I have made the robot very user-friendly, so that it can be operated by junior staff in the police, para-military and military forces," Varkey said.

According to him, 16 cameras can be attached simultaneously to the machine to get different angles of the explosives. Varkey added that if provided with a password, the robot could be operated from 16 locations across the world.