“Throwbots”, which can be tossed through a window or door, are standard equipment for many US police forces. These small robots – invaluable in sieges and hostage situations – are designed to always land right side up before being driven around by remote control, beaming back video from inside a building.
Now a new version can climb up and over the side of a ship, and should be an asset for anti-pirate operations, according to makers ReconRobotics of Edina, Minnesota.
The robot is being developed under a cooperative agreement with the US navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, based in San Diego, California. It is a modified version of the company’s Recon Scout throwbot, but with magnetised wheels that allow it to scale a ship’s hull.