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Response robots save lives.

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Around the world first responders use them to meet

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the challenges of natural disasters,

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homemade bombs and hazardous materials spills.

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We're very objective when we're utilizing robotics.

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Each platform has different abilities.

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We might need to deliver large explosive devices to render items safe.

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We might need to go down and rip open packages or gain access to vehicles or locations

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or we might just use a small robot they can get us access to an area very quickly

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to give us the intelligence that we need to perform other maneuvers.

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But they need testing standards so they can procure the right robot for their needs.

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There was no way for us to actually identify and set standards

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for the various different robot platforms that's currently out there in the market.

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Before this, certainly we really was operating blind

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and just purchasing robots just based on cost effectiveness.

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We're trying to turn that around with a rigorous scientific process

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so that people understand the capabilities of the system.

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Here at NIST robot test facility,

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we have a growing suite of standard test methods for ground robots,

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aerial robots and underwater robots.

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There is a commonly agreed upon procedure

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that allows anyone who replicates that standard to test their robot in a similar fashion.

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We have a variety of sponsors generally throughout the federal government,

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DHS Science and Technology Directorate has been sort of our earliest

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and most consistent sponsor.

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They have entities within DHS that are actively purchasing robots,

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they have FEMA who has the urban rescue task for across the country,

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they have customs and border protection that increasingly wants to

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use robots to investigate illicit tunnels.

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DHS took the view early on that the standards infrastructure

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is what was essential to make sure that the procurements and the training

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could happen in a more systematic and scientific way.

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The DHS Science and Technology Directorate uses the raw data produced

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by NIST robot testing methods

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to create reports for bomb squad units across the United States.

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Local and federal bomb units use these reports to make smart purchasing decisions

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that save taxpayer money and ensure that responders have effective robot systems.

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They have used standard test method to procure the robots

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and now they are using the standard test methods to train.

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Understanding robot functions, it's a perishable skill.

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So with this training suite, you're able to cycle the bomb technician through periodically

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to maintain that critical skill level.

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Training is a critical element of the standard test methods,

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what it does is it gives the operators the confidence to go into areas without

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damaging their equipment and being able to utilize some advanced features of the platforms.

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If we did not have this to go to, to evaluate our equipment,

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first we would not be able to really identify the best equipment out there for our job,

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we have the standard test methods which decreases the amount of cost

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and time that my employees need to use for robot operating proficiency.

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So this program has received a lot of positive feedback

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from the responders in particular, those are the ones we take to heart.

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Something about this process is really working for a variety of groups.