According to a press release from the ETH, it is expanding its collaboration with armasuisse S+T, the science and technology center of the Swiss Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS). The two partners have launched a joint program for the development of security robotics.
Within the context of this program, over five years armasuisse will invest a total of 2.5 million Swiss francs in robotics projects that could support Swiss rescue and security forces in unarmed missions. Joint research into weapons systems was explicitly ruled out in the agreement, the ETH explained.
The ETH and armasuisse S+T have collaborated before in the past. The press release gives the four-legged ANYmal robot and a walking excavator as examples. Thomas Rothacher, Head of armasuisse S+T, commented in the press release: “In addition to expanding our robotics knowledge, the collaboration with ETH Zurich helps us to anticipate future technological developments in areas that are relevant to our activities.”
Researchers at the ETH could in turn benefit from the knowledge of security and rescue forces. Additionally, prototypes could be tested at armasuisse test sites, where realistic catastrophe environments such as large fires or floods can be simulated.
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