SAUGUS — Robots took center stage at the Belmonte STEAM Academy Tuesday morning thanks to two members of the State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Section, who provided a demonstration of some of the advanced robotics they use in their roles on the “bomb squad” to students.
Troopers John Ragosa and Tim Sova walked students through the procedures they undergo when responding to a call for a potential explosive, including the different equipment they might use to investigate — demonstrating protective gear, drones, and even Scout, Ragosa’s bomb-sniffing dog. Ragosa led students through the process of investigating an explosive, explaining that troopers typically want to avoid having to go hands-on with the object.
“Worst comes to worst we have to go hands-on, which is the last step that a bomb technician wants to do. You never want to go hands-on with a package unless certain standards are met,” Ragosa said.
Ragosa said there are 12 certified state bomb technicians.
The demonstration was held to coincide with the upcoming conclusion of teacher William Palmerini’s Project Lead the Way unit on robotics for 5th-grade students. Project Lead the Way, according to its website, is a “nonprofit organization that develops STEM curricula.”
After Ragosa walked students through the equipment used in responding to a bomb call, he roused Scout, who had been peacefully sleeping on stage to that point, with the promise of food, conjuring a rousing response from the students in attendance. Ragosa explained that unlike other dogs, Scout doesn’t eat out of a bowl, instead, he eats when he successfully sniffs out an explosive — which Ragosa said means he has to work each and every day.
Scout did just that Tuesday morning after Ragosa placed an object intended to appear to Scout as a potential explosive inside the auditorium, which Scout was able to quickly sniff out.
Ragosa then ceded the stage to Sova, who showed off some of the more technical tools used by the bomb squad, including a drone, which is used to provide an overhead view of scenes, and get responders a high-up view into spaces they may not be able to reach otherwise.
Sova said the drone has become a key tool.
“If there’s a specific package that we don’t want to send a human close to, we can take this drone, we can fly it up over kind of get on top of it look down, there’s a camera right here, the camera tilts down, we can see what’s going on with it,” he explained, adding that the drone is also used in SWAT responses. “We can take care of a situation pretty quick with a drone. It’s pretty user-friendly, and it’s pretty cheap too so if this thing were to get blown up, or a bad guy were to kick it, or if it were to get blown out of the air it’s no big deal.”
After the drone, Sova showed off a Qinetiq Dragon Runner, a military robot now in use by the State Police. The Dragon Runner, as its name might suggest, moves on land and is controlled remotely by a trooper. To the shock and delight of some students, the Runner was able to make its way down a flight of stairs inside the auditorium before it ran out of battery while going back up the stairs.
Sova explained that while the Runner is older technology, it is still a vital part of what the unit does.
“The great thing about this robot is that it was made here in Massachusetts,” he said. “This robot was actually designed in the early 2000s for the Marine Corps … we use this to disarm bombs, [we can] send this into a house, [it has] really good cameras.”
The final piece of technology demonstrated at the assembly Thursday morning was Spot, a Boston Dynamics Robot Dog Ragosa named “Roscoe.” When Roscoe, painted to look like a State Police cruiser over the bright yellow Boston Dynamics color, entered the auditorium, the students in attendance gave it a huge ovation, seemingly overflowing with excitement.
Ragosa quipped that “that’s why we save Spot for last.”
Only two Boston Dynamics robots are in the State Police inventory, with one on the North Shore and one on the South Shore, according to Ragosa, who told students Roscoe’s algorithm allows it to do many things automatically, without the assistance of a Trooper controlling it remotely. The robot was able to pick up a bag after Ragosa alerted it to the bag’s presence, and attempts by Ragosa to flip the robot over failed.
A later attempt to guide it into a table also failed, as Roscoe has anti-collision software built in.
At the close of the ceremony, the students, in unison, thanked Ragosa and Sova for the demonstration.
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
