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Howe & Howe, Inc., a subsidiary of Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. company, announces that it will participate in FDIC International 2022 with its Thermite® firefighting robot family and the brand-new SWAT-BOT™, mobile ballistic shield all-terrain robot.

The company will be located in booth 5061 at the conference, which will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana from April 25-30.

Providing fire suppression

Howe & Howe’s Thermite family of firefighting robots, including the RS1, RS3, and all-electric EV2, are designed to mitigate life-threatening situations by providing fire suppression, situational awareness, and intelligence gathering to first responders.

Thermite traverses hazardous terrain and pushes obstacles from its path

Operated by remote belly-pack and handheld controllers, Thermite traverses hazardous terrain and pushes obstacles from its path. It can endure extreme elements, keeping the user at a safe distance while receiving real-time video feed. The company also will showcase its latest product innovation. “We will unveil our all-electric SWAT-BOT EV1 and EV2,” said Mike Howe, President of Howe & Howe. “This mobile, remotely operated SWAT shield utilizes the same chassis as our Thermite products. Our goal is to provide the most advanced technology, while ensuring the safety of our customers, and to define, create and conquer the ground robotics industry.”

Defensive and offensive capabilities

In 2012, Howe & Howe created the first SWAT-BOT, a remotely operated robotic ballistic shield engineered for first responders. Developed with the Massachusetts State Police and Southern Maine Special Response Team (SRT), the robot provides effective defensive and offensive capabilities in a variety of tactical scenarios including active shooter, hostage, vehicle immobilization, and breaching/entry. After refining the product’s original design, SWAT-BOT is now an all-electric platform with a near-silent approach for added mission capabilities.

SWAT-BOT is designed to protect a team of officers rather than each individual relying on a personal ballistic shield; it provides full body coverage versus torso-only coverage. This also allows team members to engage both hands during their mission without having to carry a shield.

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