AVERT

"The Autonomous Vehicle Emergency Recovery Tool (AVERT) provides a capability rapidly to deploy, extract and remove both blocking and suspect vehicles from vulnerable positions and confined spaces."

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'In Europe, terrorism threatens horrific loss of life, extensive disruption to city transport and damage to commercial real estate. Vehicles provide an ideal delivery mechanism because they can be meticulously prepared well in advance of deployment and then brought in to the Area of Operations. Furthermore, a real and present danger comes from the threat of Chemical, Radiological, Biological and Nuclear (CRBN) contamination. Current methods of bomb disruption and neutralisation are hindered in the event that the device is shielded, blocked or for whatever reason cannot be accessed for examination.

The Autonomous Vehicle Emergency Recovery Tool (AVERT) shall provide a unique capability to Police and Armed Services to rapidly deploy, extract and remove both blocking and suspect vehicles from vulnerable positions such as enclosed infrastructure spaces, tunnels, low bridges as well as under-building and underground car parks. Vehicles can be removed from confined spaces with delicate handling, swiftly and in any direction to a safer disposal point to reduce or eliminate collateral damage to infrastructure and personnel. AVERT shall be commanded remotely and shall operate autonomously under its own power and sensor awareness, as a critical tool alongside existing technologies, thereby enhancing bomb disposal response speed and safety.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Explosive devices placed in vehicles are often difficult to remove once detected. A new system of bogies (small wheeled frameworks) promises to facilitate the task considerably.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Very often, car bombs are used by terrorists to strike at the heart of cities and unsuspecting populations.

These make for effective strikes as vehicles are ideal to load with explosives and park in a targeted area.

This also makes it very difficult for emergency services or police to examine and remove a suspect device.

http://www.avertproject.eu (AVERT) represents an EU-funded project that is working on facilitating the extraction and removal of both obstructing and suspect vehicles from tight spots.

The solution involves placing omnidirectional lifting bogies under the targeted vehicle and moving them electronically in tandem.To achieve its aim, the project team is outlining system requirements, defining user needs and developing the required software.

It is working on the deployment unit and articulating system communication needs.

In addition, the team is working on mechanical engineering design of the bogies and manufacturing considerations to prove the system's viability.

It is developing path-planning software for fast and safe removal of vehicles, taking into consideration bogie control, sensors and autonomous location of vehicle wheels to design the bogies.Much progress has been achieved in research trials and studies to validate the system and in refining sensors and communications.

The project team overcame several design challenges and constraints, particularly with respect to designing and building the bogie units themselves.

Several dissemination and exploitation activities have already been undertaken through exhibitions, workshops, journal publications and conference papers.

Once the system is exploited, police and emergency services will be able to quickly deploy the bogies in order to extract and remove suspect vehicles.

This is ideal for retrieving vehicles from confined spaces such as tunnels, low bridges and underground parking garages.The AVERT project represents a valuable tool alongside existing complementary technologies to strengthen speed and safety in bomb disposal.

While the prototype costs remain expensive, the project is continuing to explore cost and exploitation considerations.

Strong interest in the solution promises to help take the new system to the market where it can help avert disaster and save lives.