Macro USA Corporation announced today that it will be working with the Hong Kong Police Department to provide two of its specialized Unmanned Ground Vehicles.
Macro will be supplying it’s field tested Armadillo 4.5 Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and the newly developed Stingray which is used for anti-piracy and marine interdiction missions.
Macro USA President, Robert Ramos, stated: “We are extremely excited for this opportunity to work with the Hong Kong Police Department and bring our leading technology and capabilities to their forces. We have been working closely with the users for over 10 months to develop a specification that meets their mission requirements”.
The Armadillo is used primarily for reconnaissance, explosive disruption, and surveillance. The Armadillo has a wide range of capabilities and is fully equipped with 6 day/night cameras, a turret housing Thermal and 20x zoom cameras, a manipulator arm, stair and obstacle climbing capability, motion detection, all terrain tracks and DVR system.
Mr Ramos further states “the Armadilo capability will give the Police a decisive and tactical advantage by being able to go into hostile areas and relay critical real time mission data to the decision makers”.
In addition to the Armadillo, Macro is also supplying it’s newly developed Maritime Interdiction robot called the Stingray. The Stingray is a light weight compact ground vehicle developed for the US NAVY to provide unique maritime capabilities. The system is a 2 lb floating/swimming system equipped with 2 day night cameras with pan and tilt capability, motion detection, COFDM radios, and an all terrain track system.
Mr Ramos stated: “This robot will provide a surveillance and first view capability for the user during Visibility Board Search Sieze (VBSS) missions”.
The robot will provide search and surveillance capability for on board inspections of cargo and personnel.
The Police Department will be tying the two systems together using Macros Integrated Situational Awareness Network (iSAN) which allows all the robots within range to be communicated with by one user and controller. This capability gives the end user full visibility by allowing the robots to work together during missions.
Mr Ramos further elaborates: “iSAN not only give to the user increased capability and awareness of the entire operational area, but it also provides real time visibility to the rear commanders who can also view or take control of the robots using a laptop back at head quarters. This has become an invaluable tool for decision makers when determining a breaching strategy. With full visibility of the scene, there is less chance for errors which translate to safer missions”.
Macro USA Corporation is located in Sacramento California – http://www.macrousa.com
