A device to be acquired by the Sandy Springs police to some may look like a child’s toy, but it represents the latest in law-enforcement technology: a miniature robot that can find out what’s happening behind closed doors, as in a hostage situation, without putting a human officer at risk.
The City Council recently approved the police department’s application for a $15,894 federal grant to pay for a Recon Robotics Throwbot XT.
The robot measures about 8 by 7½ by 5½ inches, weighs 1.2 pounds and can be "thrown" up to 120 feet, according to Recon's website. Once deployed, the remote-controlled robot can roll around nearly silently and transmit audio and video – it has an infrared camera for low-light situations – back to its operator.
Funding to buy the device would come from an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, a program of the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Throwbot can help “locate armed subjects, confirm the presence of hostages or innocent civilians, listen in on conversations and reveal the layout of rooms – information that can save lives and increase the success of high-risk operations,” Recon says.
It will replace an aging mini-robot “that has proven unreliable in recent years,” according to a staff memo to the Council.
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