Robotic Helper Joins County Emergency Team

Somerset County's Emergency Response Team has a new helper the team members have taken to calling "Wall-E."

Like the movie character, the county's new "Wall-E" is a robot—one capable of pulling a 270-pound person, smashing a window, or getting a close look at a bomb.

Officials demonstrated the capabilities of the Caliber T5 Robot Thursday, stressing the myriad of uses in crime fighting and life saving of which the versatile machine is capable.

The nearly $90,000 robot was purchased with about $29,000 in State Homeland Security Program funding and other grants. Similar to the robots developed and tested in Iraq and Afghanistan for bomb detonation and sensing, the remote controlled robot will protect emergency responders by providing "eyes and ears" at emergencies. The demonstration showed how the robot could deflate tires on a vehicle, preventing suspects from fleeing the scene of a crime without jeopardizing police officers, or get a close look at an explosive device to allow police to determine how to detonate or deal with the bomb.

"It has two-way communications, so he (the remote operator) can talk and receive messages," Hillsborough Police Officer Chris Kennedy, a member of the Somerset County Emergency Response Team Crisis Negotiation Team, said.  

The robot has an arm mounted on a 360-degree rotating turret that offers five degrees of movement at the shoulder, elbow, wrist and claw joints. Measuring 17.25” wide, the robot can access a variety of narrow spaces, climb stairs, open doors, grip bags and use hook and line attachments. 

Combined with the video and radio communications Wall-E can provide means officers won't have to place themselves in dangerous situations.

"It's very good for officers' safety," Capt. Peter Lubas, commander of the Crisis Negotiation Team said. 

Somerset County Emergency Response Teams (SCERT) include police officers from the Prosecutor’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and municipal departments.  They are divided into four sub units: the S.W.A.T. Team, the Emergency Medical Team from Somerset Medical Center and the newly formed Dive-Rescue Unit, as well as the Crisis Negotiation Team. When a call for assistance is received, SCERT units can be mobilized and on scene within 45 minutes, any time of day or night, seven days a week.  During the past 16 years, SCERT members have responded to more than 100 incidents.

The Somerset County Hazardous Materials Response Team, which is coordinated by the Office of Emergency Management, is comprised of volunteers who are required to complete mandated training and to maintain proficiency by participating in annual training sessions and drills. HAZ-MAT personnel respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive releases. The team is responsible for technical guidance, hazard mitigation, victim rescue, and the control and capture of hazardous materials.