Bomb-Disposal Robot: RUET students shake hands with Bangladesh Army

The group comprised students from the Mechatronics Engineering Department of RUET. They are also members of the RUET Robotics Society. Photo: Courtesy

During the Ramadan vacation, while Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) was closed, a group of students did not go home. They worked tirelessly to develop a robot capable of deactivating bombs. After all, they were building it for the Bangladesh Army. They had always wanted to work with the defence forces.

The group comprised students from the Mechatronics Engineering Department of the university. Led by SM Shafayet Jamil, it also included Kazi Atif, Md. Al Tasdid Ul, Eashir Arafat and Ariful Islam. They are also members of the RUET Robotics Society.

Roknuzzaman Rana, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and Md. Firoj Ali, Head of the Department Of Mechatronics Engineering, supervised the project. Dr Md Jahangir Alam, Vice-Chancellor of  RUET, granted them special permission to stay at the residential hall during that time.

The team encountered significant challenges during the development process, due to limited time and resources.

"Their requirement was to complete the project within 12 days. It was a big challenge but we took it up," said Shafayet.  "The campus was lonesome, but we stayed back to get it done."

The Army officials of Natore's Qadirabad Cantonment appreciated the group's earlier endeavour - the Mars Rover Robot, which attended the International Rover Design Challenge last year and was placed 11th globally. The officials asked them to design a similar robot for bomb disposal.

Inspired by Greek mythology, the robot is named Hades-X-ZeroThree. 'Hades' refers to the Greek god of the underworld, and 'X-ZeroThree' indicates the robot's trial number.

The key feature of the robot is that it can detect and recover bombs with a "grip and hold" approach. It accesses locations that pose significant risks to human safety. It can lift and carry objects weighing over three kilograms, and can be operated from a distance of one kilometre.

It can traverse diverse terrains, including high and low roads, fields, and mud, which was a requirement. It can travel at a speed of 30 kilometres per hour.

It uses a specially designed hand for safe bomb disposal. The integrated wireless surveillance cameras and microphones provide real-time video and audio updates to the operator. Equipped with night vision and headlights, it can operate both at day and night.

Photo: Courtesy

Commercially available robots with similar features in the market cost seven to ten times more. Hades-X-ZeroThree, on the other hand, was developed on a minimal budget of around Tk50,000.

Materials to build robots are usually very expensive. So, they customised everything themselves — from the chassis to the robotic arm, and even the wheels. Since the university's workshop was closed during Ramadan, they had to source materials from local workshops.

"We researched what technology is used by the armies of different countries for bomb disposal. We looked for the most efficient and optimised model. Our bot is more efficient compared to the one they currently use — in terms of battery backup, as well as the cost," said Kazi Atif.

"As always, funding was a bit of a challenge. But we were overwhelmed by the opportunity. We just wanted to pull it off anyway," said Md. Al Tasdid Ul.

The team handed over the prototype to the Bangladesh Army on April 19, at Qadirabad Cantonment in Natore. Army representatives thoroughly evaluated its functionalities and will further discuss with the team about ordering it in bulk. However, they showed interest in collaborating further, say the team members.