SANFORD, Maine(NEWS CENTER) -- It was supposed to be unveiled earlier this week in Boston, but after Monday's tragic events at the Boston Marathon, Howe and Howe Technologies and several southern Maine police agencies decided to release the "SWAT BOT" in Maine.
Manufactured by Howe and Howe Technologies in Waterboro, the "SWAT BOT" is a remotely controlled vehicle that can provide protection for up to twelve police officers at a time in dangerous situations.
"It's a piece of equipment that makes our job much easier," Sanford Police Chief Tom Connolly said. "It allows us to approach an armed, barricaded person, or a person who is concealing himself behind a vehicle armed or in a building and armed."
During a demonstration by the Southern Maine Special Response Team Thursday morning at the Sanford Police Department, police said they can also use the "SWAT BOT" to approach an explosive device remotely to examine it with high definition cameras while also using the shield to absorb shrapnel and other debris.
"If you save one life, or two lives, I think that more than pays for the cost of the device," Chief Connolly said Thursday.
Howe and Howe Technologies said the "SWAT BOT" is being sold for just under $100,000, and the first model was developed in conjunction with Massachusetts State Police and the Southern Maine Special Response Team.
