Army STEM truck stops at Zane State

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- The U.S. Army STEM semi-truck helped educate students at Zane State College on Tuesday.

The interactive trailer was parked on the Zanesville campus to teach students about the Army’s advancements in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“This is a very good asset as far as a wealth of knowledge and information in these areas for these young students,” said Sgt. First Class Alap Parikh. “It really opens their minds to the opportunities that are available especially now for educational purposes.”

The STEM vehicle travels across the country toting a trailer with a series of video touch screens that allow students to complete missions in a simulated, hands-on way. Each mission features new technology called SARAH; Search and Rescue Autonomous Hybrid.

“The reason why we built SARAH was because there are many different catastrophes that happen. Buildings could catch on fire, buildings could collapse and we can’t get to them in a reasonable amount of time, SARAH has the capability of going down there much quicker or getting in there,” said Sgt. First Class Bob Payne with the U.S. Army STEM semi.

Payne said safety was a motivating factor for SARAH’s development.

“She goes places where we shouldn’t go as humans because it’s too dangerous, that’s the whole purpose for it; saving lives,” said Payne.

The prototype for SARAH has yet to be developed, but Payne said the Army projects it to debut in 2032.