MATTHEW Broxham, from Appleton Roebuck, is developing a rescue robot, which navigates using Xbox Kinect technology.

The former Tadcaster Grammar student, who is now in the final year of his masters degree in engineering at Warwick University, is part of the university’s mobile robotics team.

Their robot needs to crawl over difficult terrain, such as destroyed buildings, in search of trapped survivors to retain its title of European RoboCup Rescue Championship and go on to win the World Championships.

The Kinect provides a method of real-time visual communication and 3D mapping, using an RGB camera for facial recognition and video capture and a depth sensor which uses infrared projection technology as well as a black and white CMOS camera, the technology used in digital cameras.

The 22-year-old said: “We’re replacing the very expensive radar system and using the Kinect to map the 3D environment. It does the same thing much faster and cheaper.”

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