Nigeria: Air Force Develops Bomb Disposing Robot

Kaduna — The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has developed a prototype robot capable of remotely defusing high caliber bombs and disposing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Commandant of AFIT, Air Vice Marshall John Oshoniyi, made the disclosure yesterday at a press conference to kick start activities lined up for the institute's 42nd graduation ceremony in Kaduna.

He noted that the institute last year commenced research into the development of a robot capable of remotely defusing bombs and disposing IEDs after a police man was killed along Ali Akilu road while attempting to certify the contents of a polythene bag.

"The robot is a prototype for now, we are going to test it and if possible make modifications with the limited resources available in the institute to make the robot operational. But I can assure you that by next year, the robot will be fully operational," he said.

He said the institute had developed and successfully test-flown two versions of unmanned aerial vehicles codenamed AMEBO 1 and 11,adding that AMEBO 111 which is an improved version of the latter has been designed and produced but has not been test-flown because NAF does not have a trained unmanned air vehicle pilot.

"AMEBO 111 has not been test-flown because we decided that one of our own in the NAF will test-fly it. The past two AMEBO's were test-flown by pilots we brought into the country from the United Kingdom. But this time, the Chief of Air Staff decided that a Nigerian will test-fly it, so right now the pilots have commenced training of NAF UAV in AFIT", he said.

He added, "The pilots are making significant progress in their training and they now conduct some of their training flights with the NAF AMEBO 11 in preparation for the test flight of the AMEBO 111 and its subsequent series. The institute is also currently working on a project on the development of an indigenous primary trainer aircraft code-named AFIT FARAWA".

Displaying the prototype robot, team leader of the IED robot research teal, Wing Commander Abubakar Bello and the Research Coordinator of the Unmanned Ground Vehicle, Wing Commander David Bello, said the robot has been tested and can pick up suspicious bags and look into containers without a human being going near the place.

They said, "The robot is a six wheel drive, has a run time of one to two hours, is 70cms long with a speed of 6.5km/ hour. It has eight channels with an effective range of 200meters and it has inbuilt CCTV camera as well as inferred camera to see clearly at night."