Robotic Tasks for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive Incident Response

Abstract

Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) incident response varies dramatically based upon the hazardous material, the incident size and the response duration. Robots can facilitate response planning, maintaining situational awareness, removing responders from dangerous situations and allowing for immediate site feedback prior to human responder entry. This paper presents eight robotic tasks informed by a cognitive task analysis and an information flow analysis. These analyses were conducted in order to inform the design of a system of multiple robots and the associated human–robotic interfaces required to support the CBRNE response command hierarchy. The cognitive task analysis was conducted over 3 years, and incorporated direct CBRNE response personnel feedback and CBRNE incident exercise observations. This paper presents the identified tasks and how robots can augment the existing human-based CBRNE incident response by improving the provided information and the speed at which information can be obtained, and reduce responders' physical workload. It is clear from our analyses that poorly designed robots and task capabilities will be highly disruptive to the human-centric CBRNE response activities.

Keywords:

• ROBOTS
• ROBOT TASKS
• DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
• COGNITIVE TASK ANALYSIS
• EMERGENCY RESPONSE