FARGO (AP) - A robot to help detect explosives has passed its first test here, authorities say.

The remote-controlled robot was used Tuesday to check out reports of a bomb in a pickup. No explosives were found.

"It's the next generation of robots," Red River Valley regional bomb squad commander Tom Hall said. "It's used a lot in Iraq along with some other robots.

"Many of the civilian bomb squads in the United States use this particular model," Hall said. "It's a multifaceted tool in that we can do chemical, biological, nuclear, explosives, assist the SWAT team, remote communications - it allows us to do remote entry kind of things like that."

More than $150,000 in federal Homeland Security grant money paid for the robot and training for the bomb squad. The bomb squad got the equipment in late September.

Fargo Police Sgt. Pat Claus said the robot cannot replace a dedicated officer.

"The robot can't reach all the nooks and crannies," he said.

"They will first use the robot, and then in areas that it's impossible to view, they're going to have to send a technician out."

The technicians wear protective suits. "But nobody's fooled by them," Claus said.

"That, to me, is bravery," Claus said of the technicians' job in checking for explosives.

"They do it methodically and carefully," he said. "But there's just no way, even with the robot, to get rid of all the risks."