The United States military needs combat tunneling robots for urban warfare settings such as Iraq. International terrorists, Iranian Insurgents and Enemy Combatants will often hide in homes or buildings. And the United States military cannot just go around blowing up buildings in homes because there might be innocent civilians inside.

One trick of international terrorists used to hide within civilian populations and use them as human shields. Also there are issues when special operations are conducted in the case of an American hostage situation. Combat tunneling robots would be an ideal application for this situation.

This subject recently came up in an online think tank and one member asks what about; Maintenance, will this be something of a special service unit? Or a single use? Would this be made small enough to just breach 1 room? Or meant for multiple re-use?

Field maintenance is important for any equipment in the modern battle space and the tunneling robot would be no different. I propose the shape of a tunneling robot, which looks like a football and would have a slap in the center which would open up consider this size of perhaps a large starter on a car or maybe a little wider.

If The flap would open up to get to the brains and the mechanism. The other side would open up with sliding doors, two which would contained a hand grenade and a canister of gas which would put the enemy asleep. I propose a reusable robotic unit in which once a canister of gas was expanded or the hand grenade the internal electronic components would fry themselves.

The unit would dig up through the bottom of the floor and make a hole and a video camera would pop out and look around then signal the operator as to the options;

1.) Detonate;

2.) Release Gas Canister;

3.) Continue to another room in the house.

If options one then it would spin on its side and release a springed hand grenade or two a canister of sleeping gas or thee then continue laterally with a slight slope downward to clear obstacles in the floor and or surface. Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Currently Lance is retired at age 40 and is running an Online Think Tank Forum while traveling North America. Perhaps considering something extremely challenging to do that will exercise his mind and utilize all his experiences, observations and skills. Any ideas?