Click to play videoNew Delhi: Two years ago, around Diwali, Kuldeep Singh was blinded and maimed for life. To save his passengers, Kuldeep tried disposing a bomb with his bare hands.
Last month unprotected officers put their lives at risk to detonate a bomb outside the Mecca Masjid.
But now there is no reason to worry. Merlyn D3 is a robot, which disposes bombs. Biju Varkey, the designer, got the idea helping cops fight terror in Punjab. The Merlyn lets officers drive to, pick up and diffuse explosives – while standing a 100 meters away. A trained engineer, Varkey says it's his way of saluting the men who save our lives.
“Everything from the computers, to the electricals to the mechanicals is made by me,” says Varkey.
The Merlyn's a far cry from these robots – 1,000 already serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. They go where angels fear to tread, controlled by soldiers from more than a kilometre away.
Others serve the British police, diffusing car bombs, protecting raid parties, detecting snipers and trapping common criminals. Irobot, the company that makes them is now eyeing the Indian market. But Varkey says his Merlyn's a much better bet.
“One, it uses local components – so easy to build and repair. Two, it can be operated by a 10 year old child. So a trained person can do wonders with it. Three – foreign robots cost Rs 80 lakh to a crore. This costs just Rs 8 lakh. It’s 1/10 the cost,” says
More Indians are killed by bombs and terrorist attacks than anywhere else in the world, except Iraq. The Merlyn's just the beginning. The DRDO has an indigenous version currently being tested by the Army. And with the Commonwealth Games just around the corner, chances are you'll soon see one of these babies patrolling a perimeter near you.
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