Wheelbarrow (robot)

The Wheelbarrow is a remotely controlled robot designed in 1972 for use by British Army bomb disposal teams operating in Northern Ireland (321 EOD), mainland Britain (11 EOD Regiment) and Iraq. Over 400 have been destroyed in operation, and they are considered to have saved the lives of hundreds.

Wheelbarrow remotely controlled bomb disposal tool.
On the streets of Northern Ireland in 1978

Design and development

Peter Miller, a retired Lieutenant-Colonel of the Royal Tank regiment, conceived the idea in the aftermath of a period (1971 – 72) when the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) lost eight Ammunition Technical Officers (ATO) on active duty in Northern Ireland.[1][2] Tasked with finding a solution by Colonel George Styles, Miller recalled that he had developed a technique when modifying a lawnmower. A possible solution to the problem, Miller went to a local garden centre to buy a lawnmower, but instead was convinced by the store manager to buy an electrically powered wheelbarrow, Miller thought it was "ideal and bought one on the spot".[1] The head of the RAOC’s Bomb Disposal School, Major Robert John Wilson Patterson, who invented the Pigstick - a device which fires an explosively-propelled jet of water to disrupt the circuitry of a bomb and disable it - had just begun to be used by the ATOs in Northern Ireland, but was known to be "virtually useless against" car bombs.[3] By incorporating the Pigstick into the Wheelbarrow, Patterson and Miller's inventiveness saved hundreds of lives.

The crude prototypes produced at CAD Kineton proved difficult to manoeuvre so a team at the then Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment (MVEE, Chertsey) was tasked to improve the tracking and steering.

The Wheelbarrow has undergone several upgrades, the latest being the Wheelbarrow Revolution. The most notable feature in this model include the 360 degree arm which can be outfitted with various EOD attachments. The Wheelbarrow Revolution is also capable of climbing stairways.

The development of Wheelbarrow from Mark 3 to Mark 8 prototype was carried out by Peter Smith and Dennis Fry BEM, the Project Manager being Winter Pattinson MBE. Credit for chassis and automative design, build and fabrication should be attributed to Dennis Fry a workshop engineer. Peter Smith designed and manufactured the electrical systems and was presented with a model of a MK7 Wheelbarrow inscribed with Thanks from Lofty and the User. Other members of the team were Cyril Luger who was put in charge of the electronic aspect,& Rod Crane a valuable member of the small team.

A Mark 9 version of the Wheelbarrow built by Northrop Grumman was unveiled in 2010.[4] It is presently used by the UK Metropolitan Police Service .[5]

References
  1. Smith, Michael (April 16, 2001). "Calls to honour inventor of bomb disposal device". The Telegraph.
  2. "Lieutenant Colonel 'Peter' Miller". The Times. September 6, 2006.
  3. "Publications and Records". UK Parliament. October 21, 1998.
  4. "Wheelbarrow MK9 Unmanned Ground Vehicle". Army Technology.
  5. Caswell, Cliff (April 25, 2012). "Met Acquires New Bomb Disposal Robot Fleet". Police Oracle.
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