This Robot Was Involved In Apprehension of Boston Bombing Suspect

Alex Fitzpatrick2013-04-20 16:48:30 UTC

After Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the second suspect in the Boston bombing case taken into custody last night, was discovered in a boat parked in a Watertown, Mass. backyard by its owner Friday, police enlisted the help of a robot to safely remove the tarp from the boat. While authorities did not specify exactly which robot was used to pull said tarp, Mashable has identified at least one robot that was on the scene.

In this photo, taken by an eyewitness near the house where Tsarnaev was hiding from police, a robot appears to be investigating a car authorities deemed suspicious. The car matches the description of a Honda which authorities were searching for Friday, but that alert was later canceled.

twitter.com/jraske/status/…

— jraske (@jraske) April 19, 2013

The robot in the photograph seems to match Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot's PackBot, a multi-purpose defense and security robot available in several different configuraitons, including EOD (explosive ordinance disposal):

Charlie Vaida, a spokesperson for iRobot, told Mashable the PackBot was used "by local law enforcement early yesterday to inspect the suspects' car," but he is still working with authorities to confirm any additional involvement. When contacted by telephone, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department told Mashable to instead direct the question to a BPD email address and await a response, which has not yet arrived.

Update: Newly released aerial images of Friday's standoff appear to show the boat's tarp was removed with a tool attached to a specialized law enforcement vehicle, not a robot.

Update 2: Vaida emails: "Following up, While PackBot was used earlier in the day to inspect the car, it was not used when the suspect was apprehended. It appears the cover was pulled off by a vehicle equipped with a robotic arm."

Thousands of police and military organizations around the world use iRobot robots, Tim Trainer, general manager of the company's defense and security business unit, previously told Mashable.

A photograph from the Associated Press circulating Saturday showed another robot used by law enforcement in Cambridge, Mass. early Friday morning — not in Watertown late Friday night. Additionally, that robot did not appear to have any kind of appendage capable of grabbing or pulling.

Do you think the PackBot was the robot responsible for pulling the tarp? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image via iRobot

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