A Survey of Commercially Available and Proven Remote Control Machines for Excavation and Recovery of Buried Ordnance

The issue of unexploded ordnance excavation and removal is complicated by the interaction between the independent robotics systems (e.g. manipulator, sensors, and software). A review of commercially available robotic systems highlights the specificity of the design and intent of each for the application and problem being addressed. Although multiple parties, including universities, research institutes, and manufacturers worldwide are concerned with removing explosive ordnance (EOD) and unexploded ordnance (UXO), the exact details of the problems and tasks at each site differ between projects, even slightly. The risks associated with the excavation and removal of ordnance require a level of robustness that necessitates extensive testing and engineering despite project similarities. Based on the experience of researchers, the integration of systems at unique excavation sites will be the critical element of the project to ensure the safe and robust removal of buried ordnance. Although this report touches on some systems integration issues to a limited degree, the report at this stage is primarily a survey of commercially available, proven robotics components and systems for the excavation and recovery of buried ordnance.