Pune: The Army acquired its first mobile robot - Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) 'Daksh', which will equip the force to handle and clear improvised explosives devices and other hazardous objects.
The first batch of six units of a total consignment of 20 was handed over to the Army in the premises of the Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), R&DE(E), part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation that has developed the indigenous system, at Dighi near here.
'Daksh' which can also come handy for anti-terrorist operations in addition to the battle field exigencies, will be an "invaluable asset" for the bomb disposal units of the Army, Major Gen Rakesh Bassi, Director General (Combat Engineers), who accepted the ROV on behalf of the Army, told reporters after the flagging-off ceremony.
The ROV which underwent extensive user trials in Jammu and Kashmir prior to limited series production has "a robust manipulator arm having six degrees of freedom" which can be extended to remotely extract IEDs, in addition to a detachable X-ray equipment that can be used to confirm the presence of the explosives, he said.
Highlighting the salient features of the "wonderful achievement" of DRDO, S Guruprasad, Director (R&DE Engineers) said, "Daksh is capable of climbing stairs as well as negotiating cross country terrain and has an on board shotgun for blasting through door locks and breaking the windshield to handle likely car bombs."
"It is also capable of towing a suspected vehicle away from a crowded area," he added.
S Sundaresh, Defence Secretary and Chief Controller R&D of DRDO, said 'Daksh' has been developed indigenously with the involvement of private sector and has strengthened an industrial base in the country for development of robotics.
He said the the state-of-the-art design of 'Daksh' offered good export potential with possible international collaborations.
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