Twenty-six potential emergency response robots underwent technical evaluation exercises in April at Disaster City™ in College Station, Texas, to test their effectiveness in an actual Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) environment.

Representatives from 12 FEMA USAR teams spent three days putting the robots through their paces in realistic training scenarios and a final exercise in conjunction with six canine teams. Robots evaluated included 16 ground, two wall-climbing, six aerial and two aquatic models.

"These robots are the future of urban search and rescue and will ultimately play a key role in saving lives," said TEEX Program Manager Billy Parker.