Life Saving Robot Built after Son’s Death in Iraq
By ryan | July 17, 2008
The name of the robot is the landshark, an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), designed to detect and disarm bombs.
When Army Pfc. John Hart was killed in a 2003 ambush, his grief-stricken father, Brian Hart, decided to channel his heartache and anger into finding a way to help U.S. troops, who lacked proper armor and other protection.
“He asked me to help him,” Brian Hart told The Associated Press, recalling a call he got from his son in Iraq. “Get us body armor and vehicular armor,” the son requested.
“He thought he’d be killed on the road and in an unarmored Humvee,” the father continued. “And a week to the day later, he was.”
The elder Hart’s solution was to create Black-I Robotics, a company that develops relatively inexpensive unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) aimed at combating the ever-more-effective and deadly improvised explosive devices that have caused the majority of casualties among U.S. military personnel in Iraq.
I’m happy someone is capable and actively working on creating better more sophisticated ways to keep our soldiers safe. And to Army Pfc. John Hart, Brian Hart and all those other soldiers and advocates that have kept us safe and able to live comfortable lives, thank you, and my heart goes out to you…
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