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Robots help with battle in Iraq

The Packbot searches for booby traps on this truck on Najaf airfield, March 31.

AN NAJAF, Iraq (Army News Service, April 22, 2003) -- The "Packbot," robot has been used in Iraq to search buildings for enemy soldiers and examine equipment left behind by retreating Iraqi forces.

A robot was used in Najaf to remotely look for enemy soldiers thought to be hiding in an agricultural center building March 30. The following day it was used to remotely examine equipment left on an airfield before engineers from the 101st Airborne cleared the runway for humanitarian relief operations, according to Sgt. 1st Class Tim South, Special Projects Noncommissioned Officer for the Rapid Equipping Force.

In both operations, Packbot operators used the robot to verify there were no enemy soldiers in the building or booby traps or mines on the airfield where the enemy was believed to have conducted "airfield denial operations," said South.

The robots are capable of maneuvering over and around obstacles, said South. They are equipped with remote infrared and optical cameras that operators can use to closely examine caves, rooms or airfields while at a distance safely away from the effects what South calls "surprises": booby traps, mines, weapons caches, or enemy soldiers.

Operators use a wireless controller to maneuver the robot and control the camera. The view from the camera is seen through a helmet-mounted eyepiece, according to Maj. Keith McGuire, project leader for the Rapid Equipping Force.

The robot is maneuverable enough to climb stairs and continue even if it is flipped over. "It pretty much maneuvers over all terrain," said South. It is also equipped with an infrared light so it can maneuver and see in total darkness.

South said there are two reasons why the equipment is valuable to soldiers: "One, you know what to expect when you go into the objective; Two, if you don't have the equipment, the soldier is going to possibly find it the hard way. He may contact the enemy, or trip the mine, or set the booby trap."

Robots have been turned over to engineers in the 101st Airborne Division at the request of the division commander, said South.

South deployed with McGuire and engineers from Camp Pennsylvania to Iraq for one week to train them in Packbot operations and maintenance.

"In the log haul we're not going to be there to operate it. It will be turned over to soldiers," said South.

The Packbot was first used in combat in July of 2002 to examine caves and a building complex in Nasarat, Afghanistan, according to Col. Bruce Jette, director of the Rapid Equipping Force.

(Editor's note: Timothy L. Rider is a member of the Information Management Task Force for Operation Iraqi Freedom)