A YOUNG engineer has helped to develop a robot which could help save lives after earthquakes.

Tom Astley, 22, from South Moreton, near Didcot, said the rescue robot could be used to find survivors in collapsed buildings where it was too dangerous to send in search teams.

Today he will fly to Germany with fellow designers from the University of Warwick to compete in the international RoboCup Rescue Championship.

Mr Astley said recent disasters in Haiti and Chile showed how important the new technology could be.

He said: “When buildings fall, there’s always the risk of aftershocks, so it can often be too dangerous to send in people.

“Our robot can move over a range of terrains and uses sensors and thermal imaging cameras to help locate victims. It can also help rescuers find safe routes through the rubble.

“The earthquakes this year have shown how much these robots could help, and how many lives could be saved.”

The competition, in Magdeburg, will see the robot operate in a simulated disaster environment.

It will have to demonstrate mobility, sensory perception and planning skills while searching for “victims” in difficult environments.

Mr Astley said bomb disposal experts, such as those based at Vauxhall Barracks in Didcot, already use robots to help them disarm weapons.

He said: “Robots are no longer the thing of sci-fi movies. The technology which is being developed is very real and they are being used more and more in society.

“Bomb disposal experts in Afghanistan rely heavily on robots, because they can allow soldiers to stay away from the weapons.”

Mr Astley’s team are pinning their competition hopes on the capabilities of the robot’s arm.

The arm, which is more flexibile than the neck of an owl, can weave in tight situations and change direction without having to move the whole robot.

Mr Astley, who is in his fourth year of a mechanical engineering degree, added: “We’re confident our creation can do well.”

The RoboCup Rescue Championship project was launched following the Great Hanshi-Awaji earthquake in Japan in 1995, which caused more than 6,500 casualties and destroyed 80,000 wooden houses in the city of Kobe.

Professor Ken Young, of Warwick University, said: “This project gives our students hands on experience of solving a real world engineering problem.

“Not only will they learn practical lessons such as how to integrate leading technology to create a practical working solution, they may also come up with their own truly innovative ideas that could be taken up by technology companies.”