Liberty Dynamic, ReconRobotics collaborating to develop throwable robot with mounted flash-bang

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Liberty Dynamic has announced that it will begin working with ReconRobotics Inc. to equip the company’s tactical Throwbot 2 robot with an Enhanced Diversionary Device.

Equipped with a flash-bang, the robot will save military and law enforcement users “precious seconds” before detonation, while also providing them the benefit of real-time intelligence.

“It’s all about giving operators tactical advantage,” says John Chapman, CEO of Liberty Dynamic.

The Enhanced Diversionary Device is described as a “reusable, microprocessor-controlled flash-bang.” It is designed to be safer and more economical than the standard stun grenades that police officers and military personnel currently use.

“Legacy flash-bangs are supposed to be safe, but their chemical detonators can sometimes ‘cook off’ too early,” Chapman explains. “They can also cause fires and secondary fragmentation because they burn very hot and explode on the ground.”

The Enhanced Diversionary Device has a digital fuse for precise, programmable detonation, and it fires its special binary load into free space. While there is a loud and blinding airburst, the device does not kick up secondary debris from the floor.

“This has made the Enhanced Diversionary Device very attractive for law enforcement and special operators as well as other platform-makers,” Chapman says.

Weighing just 1.3 pounds, ReconRobotics’ Throwbot 2 is extremely rugged, as it can be dropped from a height of 30 feet. It can be tossed over walls and into rooms, which allows operators to secretly surveil an area without exposing themselves to hostile fire.

ReconRobotics’ products have been used by a number of local and federal law enforcement agencies since the company was founded in 2005, as well as by the U.S. and allied military forces.

“That’s why we are so excited by the idea of working with Liberty Dynamic,” says Mack Traynor, CEO for ReconRobotics.

“The partnership demonstrates our commitment to continue to develop products that protect personnel from hidden threats, enhance mission planning and execution and minimize collateral damage for our users.”