The U.S. Army will test the DARPA RACER sapper robot during exercises.
The U.S. Army will conduct tests of a robotic platform for mine clearance during exercises at the end of October. The sapper robot will tow a series mine-clearing system, writes Army Recognition.
The 12-ton vehicle on the RACER Heavy Platform (RHP), developed by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is connected to the M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge (MICLIC).
The military wants to test whether the tracked RHP can effectively tow and deploy the MICLIC for autonomous mine clearance. It is noted that the robot will allow for the practice of engineering operations in which direct exposure to explosive devices for personnel is minimized.
The robotic platform, approximately six meters long, is built on the chassis of the Textron M5 robot. The base chassis has been upgraded for autonomous operation. The vehicle is equipped with lidars, several cameras, and inertial measurement units that provide 360-degree obstacle detection. The robot can reach speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour. The MICLIC system allows charges to be launched for mine clearance at distances of up to 140 meters. Each meter of charge contains 7.4 kilograms of explosives.
