Talon robot gets two-way hailer feature

QinetiQ North America, a company with offices in Waltham that makes the Talon family of military and first-responder robots, said it has created a two-way hailer capability for its robots.

The capability makes the robots effective in such scenarios as emergency evacuations and hostage negotiations because it enables the robot operator to "listen" and "speak" with high fidelity and volume control, the company said in a press release. Initial systems have been delivered to police department SWAT teams in Texas and Florida.

According to the release, the enhanced hailer provides secure encrypted two-way wireless audio communications between a Talon robot and an operator up to 2,600 feet away.

"Two-way conversations can be conducted at four volume levels from whisper mode to loud," the release said. "The 120-decibel siren can be used to warn, distract, or disrupt voice communications. The two-way hailer is easy to install on a Talon and can be quickly transferred from one Talon to another."

The photo of the Talon robot that accompanies this post was taken from a company website.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)