Stephen Pokowitz

Julia Barry
4th Block
3/15/15

The field of robotics is changing rapidly and new developments and

breakthroughs happen almost everyday in science. In the new 21st century world of
drones, robots, and artificial intelligence it has become necessary for robots to be able
to identify and react to stimuli to protect themselves and or to protect humans. They are
often used in dangerous situations where using humans would be too dangerous, but
that being said, specialized robots cost in the hundreds of thousands or millions of
dollars and protecting them from destruction is paramount if they are to be efficient.
There are three main portions to threat detection, systems and means of threat
detection, protecting robots and protecting humans and there has been a plethora of
research done on them.
Humans have always wanted to be able to detect threats before they came,
whether using dogs to predict inclement whether or canaries to detect the presence of
harmful fumes in the mine humans have always tried to be one step ahead of danger.
With the advent of the computer and new technologies and sensors humans are now
able to use miniature computers and processors to detect weather patterns, planes, and
threats. Currently the military uses robots to defuse bombs and to detect radiation so
that soldiers dont have to be put into those dangerous situations. The Idaho National
Laboratory made a breakthrough in threat detection technology when they introduced
their ARTHR (Autonomous Real-Time Threat-Hunting Robot) system, Its intelligence
payload enables commercial robots, with plug-and-play sensors, to hunt for and localize
deadly hazards and security threats such as irregular oxygen levels, volatile organic
compounds, chlorine, ammonia, radioactivity, explosive particulates and land mines.
ARTHR is the first paradigm shifting system that ports seamlessly between varieties of

robot platforms. The key is that ARTHR is not a robot it is a payload of brains. Its a
combination of robust intelligent behaviors, hazard sensors, simple-to-use interface
tools and innovative interaction techniques that improve a robots value and functions in
hazardous environments, (INL) ARTHRs brilliance comes from its ability to be a plug
and play system. Any sensor can be used to detect a multitude of things not listed such
as weather patterns, incoming objects, motion sensors to detect cars or animals or
anything of the sort. Robots also must have a way of aggregating and accumulating
data that can be processed at a later time, it doesnt matter if the sensors sense
something if it does not get communicated. In a case study of sensors on Swarm Bots
the actual robot does not seek out the threat only the auxiliary swarm bots and
communicate back to the robot. All sensors communicate with a base robot, which
does not actively seek threat. Instead, the base robot processes the information using
sensor data and data sent by swarm robots. A command center can collect processed
data (aggregated data) from the base robot without interacting with other components of
the SoS such as sensors and swarm robots(Jamshidi). The robot uses a processor or
miniature computer brain to process and store the incoming information.
Robots must be able to protect themselves from outside forces or else they
become inefficient and a waste of money. Many companies and organizations have
implemented systems to prevent robots from getting destroyed by outside forces. As
seen in the Voyager spacecraft series NASA believes it is paramount to keep their deep
space probe up and running so they developed a computer system to make sure that
the robot stays in homeostasis, each Voyager is equipped with computer programming
for autonomous fault protection. The Voyager system is one of the most sophisticated

ever designed for a deep-space probe. There are seven top-level fault protection
routines, each capable of covering a multitude of possible failures. The spacecraft can
place itself in a safe state in a matter of only seconds or minutes, an ability that is critical
for its survival when round-trip communication times for Earth stretch to several hours
as the spacecraft journeys to the remote outer solar system,(The Mission). The
voyager design was one of the first designs
With threat detection concerning humans the primary objective is to either go in
the place of a human into a dangerous situation or to react to a threat or perceived
threat that may harm a human. This can most easily be seen in the military with the use
of bomb defusion robots and drones that can evaluate a threat and/or get rid of it by
using sensors to detect what may be threatening. Current technology pioneered by
Johns Hopkins University now allows for bomb disposal technicians to access and
dispose of bombs that before would have required the technician to put himself in
danger, Sallys MPL is most remarkable in its ability to give operators an amazing
degree of vital real-time control. To activate the arm, an operator wearing a special
sensor-laden glove manipulates his arms and hands, and Sally mimics these
movements. The sensors in the glove are so precise that Sally can actuate individual
joints in her hands and fingers to exactly mimic whats happening on the operators
end,(Maxey). Advancements like the one mentioned can pave the way to a whole new
era of robot protection of humans.
Though robots have a long and storied history, starting with Asimov and his three
rules of robotics, all the way up to the invention of drone swarms that can accurately
make a 3D map of an area. One of the more promising aspects of robotics is the ability

to create robots that can sense threats, and protect itself or humans from potential
dangers and tons of research has been done into these forms of threat detection. While
its improbable that a robot like the ones seen in I Robot and the like will come be the
managers and savers of humanity, the future looks promising. In our robotics class we
have learned how to implement sensors to sense and react to threats against our robot.
While they might not be as sophisticated as some of the systems mentioned above the
sensors and techniques used in class still give us a better understanding of how
sensors can be implemented for threat protection.

"ARTHR Gives Robots the Brains to Detect Threats." INL. Idaho National Laboratory,
2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Jamshidi, Mo. "Systems of Systems Engineering." Google Books. CRC Press,
6 Nov.
Maxey, Kyle1. "Bomb Disposal Robot from Johns Hopkins Researchers
ENGINEERING.com." Bomb Disposal Robot from Johns Hopkins Researchers
ENGINEERING.com. Engineering.com, 20 June 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
2008. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
"THE MISSION." Voyager. NASA, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.