RoboHound:developing sample collection and preconcentration hardware for a remote trace explosives detection system.

Abstract

The RoboHound TM Project was a three-year, multiphase project at Sandia National Laboratories to build and refine a working prototype trace explosive detection system as a tool for a commercial robot. The RoboHound system was envisioned to be a tool for emergency responders to test suspicious items (i.e., packages or vehicles) for explosives while maintaining a safe distance. The project investigated combining Sandia's expertise in trace explosives detection with a wheeled robotic platform that could be programmed to interrogate suspicious items remotely for the presence of explosives. All of the RoboHound field tests were successful, especially with regards to the ability to collect and detect trace samples of RDX. The project has gone from remote sampling with human intervention to a fully automatic system that requires no human intervention until the robot returns from a sortie. A proposal is being made for additional work leading towards commercialization.3