SWAT Bot to help Newport cops

A little robot that has been roving Northern Kentucky University grounds mugging for selfies with students eventually will be partnering with police in contentious criminal situations.

The SWAT Bot, as it's called, is the brainchild of a special topics technology class, and after it's finished, it will be donated to the Newport Police Department.

Professor Steve Hinkel's students started working on the robot in March after they chose "the most complex" project from several options he provided.

It is a rover that, among other things, has sensors, night vision, video and photo capability and, of course, can travel.

You might see it at NKU campus grounds, but don't worry about running into it, said graduate Tara Sanders, 23, of Cincinnati, who was among students on teams with specialized goals for the bot.

"Part of the safety aspect of the rover was to install a master kill switch. That way if there is ever anything unexpected or unsafe happening the person controlling the rover could kill the rover," Sander said.

Newport Police Chief Tom Collins said the robot could be useful in a number of situations: "If you have a guy that's heavily armed and is barricaded in and you don't want to walk to the front door while your trying to negotiate, you can send it in," he said. "If you have a package and you're not sure what the package is, the robot can go in and move the package around, remove it, 'see' it."

The students demonstrated the robot to Newport Police over the summer and gave some additional ideas to the them to enhance its use. The most significant is a robotic arm, likely to be added next spring.

It's not certain when the rover will be ready for Newport's SWAT team, but it won't be the last robot that NKU students give to a police department.

"We are hopeful to produce at least one law enforcement rover per semester – two annually," Hinkel said.

That way, one bot will go to police, and the other will remain on campus. Hinkel said the robots will rotate so that police always have the most current rover. Campus bots will have their own jobs, such as delivering pizzas to dorms or launching T-shirts into crowds at games.

But the biggest challenge, Hinkel said, is funding.

For now the professor has handled that issue: "I donate everything I make teaching back into the class for the students," said Hinkel, who works full time as director of advanced technology for Duke Energy.

He hopes to receive state funding or corporate sponsors for the continuing project.