Teams from around the Southwest will wrangle their bomb-squad robots at the tenth annual Robot Rodeo beginning June 14, 2016 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
“The Robot Rodeo gives bomb-squad teams the opportunity to practice and hone their skills in a lively but low-risk setting,” said Chris Ory of the Emergency Response Group at Los Alamos and a member the Laboratory’s hazardous-devices team.
Los Alamos’ participation and support of the Robot Rodeo also aligns with its goal of fostering excellence in science and engineering disciplines essential for national security missions.
Teams scheduled to participate in the three-day competition include:
- Albuquerque Police Department
- Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office
- Farmington Police Department
- Los Alamos Police Department
- Kirtland Air Force Base EOD Team
- Holloman Air Force Base EOD Team
- Davis-Monthan Air Force Base EOD Team
- Fort Carson Air Force Base EOD Team
- New Mexico State Police
- Southern California Regional Team
Teams compete in events and simulations, such as:
- Rendering safe terrorist-type devices
- Recovering stolen radioactive materials
- Navigating obstacle courses
- Investigating a possible homemade-explosives lab
- Operating in confined spaces such as aircraft or railcars
- Using common hand tools to disable a device
- Attacking and rendering safe large vehicle bombs
- Dealing with suicide bombers
LLNL, Sandia National Laboratories, the Region II International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators, REMOTEC, WMD Tech and NABCO sponsor the Robot Rodeo.