FORT HOOD, TX — A new robotic system is here with a goal to help Explosive Ordnance Disposal soldiers.
The Man Transportable Robotic System, also known as MTRS, is supposed to keep soldiers from having to enter hazardous environments.
EOD Soldiers with the 737th Ordnance Company and 937th Route Clearance Company took part in operational testing of the new robotic system on Thursday.
"It's intent is to keep soldiers from having to enter a hazardous environment, so for this EOD team it's two individuals, but it can be used by up to platoon size which would be 35," said Ed Jagodzinski, military test plans analyst.
During the testing, the EOD team was alerted of a possible threat. They then traveled to the threat location to investigate and determine how to best handle the situation using the robotic system.
"The robot did not see the trip line, so in a real world situation, the robot would have been blown up. So he'd have to go down in the bomb suit, and he'd have to recover the robot and then continue on afterwards with the hazards he has downrange," said SFC Robert Brizzi, 797th EOD platoon sergeant.
Once the data is collected, the next step is to go back and see if they need to alter the robot's capabilities.
