The hopes dim for 29 men trapped in a New Zealand coal mine, a U.S. robotics expert isn't surprised that an army bomb-disposal robot short-circuited today when it hit water just 1,800 feet into the Pike River mine.
''The environment is tough -- dark, wet, cold -- so even on a level floor that would be easy for a person to walk on, a 'regular' robot can quickly short out, get its sensor covered in muck, mechanically seize up, or the operator makes a mistake," Robin Murphy from Texas A&M University's computer science department told The Sydney Morning Herald.
News reports indicate that the robot has since been restarted and traveled another 1,640 feet, and a second bomb-disposal robot is also on the way into the mine. But experts are not optimistic about a successful rescue, given the fact that they have had no contact with the trapped men for four days.Murphy told the Herald that using the bomb-disposal robots is "worth a shot" in such rescue efforts, but noted that a U.S. robot specially adapted for coal-mine rescue work stands the best chance of navigating the New Zealand mine's harsh environment.
The robot, called the ANDROS Wolverine Robot and nicknamed V2, is propelled by explosion-proof motors that drive rubber tracks similar to those of a military tank, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
[Source]
