OMNITECH CONVERTS LAND MINE DETECTION VEHICLE FOR UNMANNED OPERATION

Omnitech Robotics International, LLC (ORILLC) has adapted its Standardized Teleoperation System (STS) to the Interim Vehicle-Mounted Mine Detector (IVMMD) Meerkat. This special-purpose vehicle is built in South Africa for landmine clearing operations.  Unmanned operation keeps the operator out of danger during land mine detection missions throughout the world.

Englewood, Colorado - September 10, 1997:  ORILLC conducted field test of STS controls installed in the Meerkat, a special-purpose South African vehicle designed to detect land mines. The field test occurred at Camp George West in Golden, Colorado. ORILLC technicians also tested two unmanned High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs).   The Meerkat and one HMMWV were shipped to Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD on Saturday, 12 November 1997.

ORILLC has adapted STS kits nearly 60 vehicles for unmanned military and commercial applications. STS kits, adapted on such diverse vehicles as M60 Panther and M1 Panther II tanks, tractors, HMMWVs, a Skytrak forklift and an all-terrain vehicle permit unmanned operation in hazardous areas while the operator drives using a portable, briefcase-size, Operator Control Unit (OCU). The OCU provides the operator with sound, video, vehicle instrumentation, and control of all vehicle functions and payloads.  US Troops in Bosnia and Kosovo use STS-equipped M60 tanks for land mine clearing missions. Unmanned operation keeps the driver out of danger without impeding the mission.