[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6801\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESherlock Drones - automated investigators tackle toxic crime scenes\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn\u0026nbsp;the recent notorious\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2018\/mar\/07\/russian-spy-police-appeal-for-witnesses-as-cobra-meeting-takes-place\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ecase of poisoning in the UK\u003C\/a\u003E city of Salisbury in March 2018, a number of first responders and innocent bystanders were treated in hospital after two victims of chemical poisoning were found unconscious on a park bench. One policeman who attended the scene became critically ill after apparent exposure to\u0026nbsp;a suspected chemical weapon,\u0026nbsp;said to be a special nerve agent called novichok.\u0026nbsp;Police said\u0026nbsp;a total of 21 people required medical care after the incident.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPast examples of rare but toxic materials at crime scenes include the 2001 anthrax letter attacks in the US and the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack in 1995. Following the radioactive poisoning of the Russian former spy, Alexander Litvinenko in London, UK, in 2006, investigators detected traces of the toxic radioactive material polonium in many locations around the city.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite these dangers, crime scene investigators must begin their forensic investigations immediately. European scientists are developing robot and remote-sensing technology to provide safe ways to assess crime or disaster scenes and begin gathering forensic evidence. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHarm\u2019s way\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027We will send robots into harm\u0027s way instead of humans,\u0027 explained Professor Michael Madden at the National University of Ireland Galway, who coordinates a research project called ROCSAFE. \u0027The goal is to improve the safety of crime scene investigators.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ROCSAFE project, which ends in 2019, will deploy remote-controlled aerial and ground-based drones equipped with sensors to assess the scene of a CBRN event without exposing investigators to risk. This will help to determine the nature of the threat and gather forensics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the first phase of a response, a swarm of drones with cameras will fly into an area to allow investigators to view it remotely. Rugged sensors on the drones will check for potential CBRN hazards. In the second phase, ground-based robots will roll in to collect evidence, such as fingerprint or DNA samples.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;We want to find the bad guys quickly so we can stop them and arrest those involved.\u0026#039;\u0026amp;nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EEd van Zalen, Netherlands Forensic Institute\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ROCSAFE aerial drone\u0026nbsp;could assess crime or disaster scenes such as that of a derailed train carrying radioactive material.\u0026nbsp;It will deploy sensors for immediate detection of radiation or toxic agents and collect air samples to test later in a laboratory. Meanwhile, a miniature lab-on-a-chip on the drone will screen returned samples for the presence of viruses or bacteria, for instance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn incident command centre usually receives a huge volume of information in a short space of time \u2013 including real-time video and images from the scene. Commanders need\u0026nbsp;to process a lot of confusing information in an extreme situation quickly and so ROCSAFE is also developing smart software to lend a hand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERare events\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027These are rare events. This is nobody\u0027s everyday job,\u0027 said Prof. Madden. \u0027We want to use artificial intelligence and probabilistic reasoning to reduce cognitive load and draw attention to things that might be of interest.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs an example, image analysis software might flag an area with damaged vegetation, suggest a possible chemical spill and suggest that samples be taken. Information such as this could be presented to the commander on a screen in the form of a clickable map, in a way that makes their job easier.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESometimes, the vital evidence itself could be contaminated. \u0027There may be some physical evidence we need to collect - a gun or partly exploded material or a liquid sample,\u0027 said Prof. Madden. \u0027The robot will pick up, tag and bag the evidence, all in a way that will stand up in court.\u0027 The researchers are constructing a prototype six-wheeled robot for this task that is about 1.5-metres-long and that can handle rough terrain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHelping forensic teams to deal with hazardous evidence is a new forensic toolbox called GIFT CBRN. The GIFT researchers have devised standard operating procedures on how to handle, package and analyse toxins such as the nerve-agent ricin, which is deadly even in minute amounts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the anthrax powder attacks took place in the US in 2001, the initial response of the security services was slow, partly because of the unprecedented situation. GIFT scientists have drawn up \u0027how to\u0027 guides for investigators, so they can act quickly in response to an incident.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027We want to find the bad guys quickly so we can stop them and arrest those involved,\u0027 said Ed van Zalen at the Netherlands Forensic Institute, who coordinated the GIFT project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENerve agents\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs well as containment, GIFT devised sensing technology such as a battery-powered boxed device that can be brought to a crime scene to identify nerve agents like sarin within an hour or two. This uses electrophoresis, a chemical technique that identifies charged molecules by applying an electric field and analysing their movements. Usually, samples must be collected and returned to the lab for identification, which takes far longer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, they developed a camera to detect radioactive material that emits potentially damaging radiation called alpha particles. This form of radiation is extremely difficult to detect and even a Geiger counter \u2013 used to detect most radiation \u2013 cannot pick it up. The substance polonium, used to murder Litvinenko, emits alpha particles which create radiation poisoning but because it was a novel attack, the failure to detect it initially slowed the police investigation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027That detector would have been very helpful at the time of the Litvinenko case,\u0027 said van Zalen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article is funded by the EU. 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