Designation: | Minotaur |
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Manufacturer: | QinetiQ North America | |
Product type: | Auxiliary Vehicles | |
Name: | Robot, Unmanned Vehicle |
QinetiQ North America designed the Minotaur to support the U.S. Army’s military efforts. Using QNA’s robotic kit, the Bobcat transforms into an unmanned military vehicle that supports a wide variety of tactical missions including IED defeat, route and path clearance, and load carriage for the supported soldiers. The Bobcat Model T110 is a diesel powered loader and equipped with mine rollers. QinetiQ’s wearable Tactical Robotic Controller™ (TRC), allows the soldier to operate the Minotaur from more than 900 meters away in order to identify and defeat IEDs. Minotaur is supported with an array of electro-optical infrared and thermal cameras as well as a front mine roller/rake system for destroying buried munitions.
Any Bobcat Loader equipped with Bobcat’s Selectable Joystick Controls (SJC) is capable of using QinetiQ’s RAK System to become a high performance robotic platform.
The TRC is a lightweight, wearable controller that allows the operator to control a family of unmanned ground vehicles like Minotaur. The soldier attaches the TRC communications pack for the system that they want to control, selects the application on the touch screen, and begins to command.
Using the MOLLE loop system, the TRC easily attaches to the soldiers body armor or rucksack. It can also be carried separately. The TRC’s hand controller fits into a drop holster on the operator's leg to simplify both carriage and accessibility. The batteries for TRC are recharged in the field using Minotaur's onboard battery charger.
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