Royalton Research Firm Nets $5.4-Million

Royalton Research Firm Nets $5.4-Million

U.S. Air Force personnel were in Royalton last month to test the All-purpose Remote Transport System, a remote control device which can remove landmines.HERALD / ROBERT EDDY

Contract To Remove Land Mines—Safely

Applied Research of Royalton has been awarded a four-year, $5.4-million contract to manufacture remote-controlled tractors that can find and remove land mines.

The All-Purpose Remote Transport System (ARTS) will be maied by Applied Research for the U. S. Air Force.

The little robots had immediate application in removing land mines from airports during the Kosovo and Bosnia. But with landmines a worldwide threat, the $175,000-units may see a lot of work. Already, interest has been expressed by other countries.

Applied Research Associates, Inc. retains about 40 personnel in Royalton, a branch founded by Scott Blouin and Jim Shinn in 1980. With over 500 employees worldwide, the parent company was founded in Albuquerque, N.M., during the 1970s.

The company, which began with engineers doing bomb blast studies, has diversified and now has projects in a variety of fields, including highly technical soil tests, earthquake damage assessment, and weapons testing for the military.

The development of ARTS was carried out in close dialogue with the U.S. Air Force at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida, where another Applied Research Division is located. Specifications for the ARTS were developed; then the Royalton Applied Research Division was granted an initial production contract.

Including principal engineer, David Timian, and staff engineer Steve Quenneville, half a dozen full-time and many part-time personnel and sub-contractors have been involved locally in the project. The first ARTS was shipped on March 1, 1998, following almost a year of work. Eighteen units were shipped in 1998 and 1999.

To secure the current contract, Applied Research competed with seven other firms throughout the country. Applied Research's proposal was rated the "best technically" at the "lowest price."

Captain Steven Barker of the U.S. Air Force has reviewed Applied Research's work with a team of military and independent reviewers throughout the test phase for the current contract review. Speaking from Florida this week he said, "We're very pleased with the quality of the ARTS.

"Explosive Ordinance Disposal troops stationed here are using the ARTS with the 400-page manual developed in South Royalton. If they can use the ARTS with no further assistance from the outside, this will be a true testament that every airman can use this out there safely."

The ARTS looks a little like a snow grooming machine. In fact, Applied Research begins with a stock tractor, the MD-70, manufactured in Grand Rapids, Mich. This unit, which retails for about $40,000, is then transformed into a highly effective remote-operated bomb disposal machine.

The ARTS's remote operation capability is weather tight to extreme conditions found all over the globe. The unit comes equipped with cameras and lights and three attachments including a surface clearance unit, a backhoe and a water canon mount. It can be operated from a distance of up to a mile and a half.

Captain Barker said the Air Force will use ARTS to clear runways and bombing ranges of land mines and other explosives.

"We are very pleased with the results," he said.

During one of the several trials the ARTS had to retrieve a 1000 pound weight from a two-foot deep hole. It passed this and every test with flying colors.

With an initial order of 14 units, Applied Research is busy. The upgrade and modifications bring the original $40K stock tractor up to a cost of over $175,000. Its value in terms of safety and human life, however, can't be measured, and ARTS is being viewed closely for work in other theaters, such as for environmental cleanup projects.

Meanwhile, David Timian, Steve Quenneville and the Royalton firm of Applied Research are already working on robotic arms and sensitive land mine sensors for the next generation of ARTS.

By Robert Eddy

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