My Story - The ROMP

My Story-Early Development- the ROMP

My dad worked in the World Trade Center. When the towers fell, I was deeply affected - it got my attention. I decided right then and there that, if I could, I would do something to help. I may not be able to stop another attack but if I could help keep first responders and citizens out of harm's way I would. With the increase in domestic terrorism and both man-made and natural disasters it was a call for action - I had to do something.

 As it turned out, I quit my job as a commercial photographer and dedicated my life to developing a series of robots which, among other things, could help find victims in the rubble. With my knowledge of cameras, RC cars, computers, industrial design, and engineering experience, I built my first robot: the ROMP or Remotely Operated Mobile Platform. It was just a ruggedized RC truck with an aluminum deck and a wireless camera, but this prototype was a game changer.

The ROMP was an ideal development platform because I could mount various “experiments” on the deck or swap out the entire deck module. I posted a photo, back when viral meant 1000 hits a day, and it went viral. I knew I had something. While I didn't invent the robot, I did develop an early robotic inspection platform and Inspectorbots was born!