Technology: Robot rescue: These guys go where human searchers can't

Mark Micire makes it very clear: His robot did not rescue any victims of Hurricane Katrina. "We saw inside structures that would not have been able to be searched by a human," said Micire, 29 and president of American Standard Robotics in St. Petersburg. "It's as important to find where not to search as it is where to search." Many buildings were flattened, leaving no more than piles of rubble that rescue workers or dogs could navigate, Micire said. But some damaged buildings hung by a thread, where even a breeze might have caused them to tumble. So risking a robot, despite a $40,000 price tag, is safer than sending rescue personnel into those buildings.