KRQE News 13 at 10
KRQE (CBS) Albuquerque, NM DMA: 44
10:07PM MDT May 20 2008
Programming Type: News

robots are getting more and more emergency assignments. at a " robot rodeo" this week in los alamos -- they are rescuing people, fighting fires -- and running obstacle courses. bob martin has the story. the robot rodeo at los alamos national lab sends teams and machines into imposing obstacle courses. sometimes operators get to look at the controls...someti mes they have to run the roobots just by feel ... and if they peek... it's 10 points off... no peeking sponsors say the competition teaches teams who don't get a lot of practice -- or worry they might break a robot -- that it can do a lot more than imagined...in all kinds of emergency scenarios... we don't have to put anybody in harm's way why not put the robot in. if it get's blown up or hurt, we can repair it. now in this situation, this rail car is hypothetically full of hazardous materials --flames are showing. two firefighters were sent in. they've gone down. need to be rescued. and the flames still have to be put out. this robot's hand is broken, so the team duct tapes on a hook ...cabled to the robot ...and then snags the victim's gear with it. success...the firefighter is slowly dragged to safety... baling wire,duct tape ...all are tools of the trade that you do whatever you need to do to accomplish the mission in the most dangerous situations -- robots can even help put out fires. bob martin -- krqe news 13-- los alamos. emergency robot technology is becoming increasingly available in smaller cities. tomorrow at ten, a larry barker investigation: "it's a crime wave that's exploding... forgery, internet swindles, stolen identity. and the criminals are winning. i'm larry barker. tomorrow on krqe news 13 at ten, our year-long investigation into the crime of the century. and why the bad guys are getting away with it. that's tomorrow night, at ten." senator ted kennedy has been