iRobot to supply military robots to Army

BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army announced it has contracted Massachusetts-based iRobot Corp. for up to 3,000 of its military robots.

iRobot is a developer of the trademarked AWARE robotic intelligence technology used in its iRobot PackBot robot for explosives detection in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company was awarded a five-year $286 million deal from the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation on behalf of the Alabama-based Robotic Systems Joint Project Office.

"This new generation of robots is set to arrive in theater and change the way the Army fights," Joe Dyer, iRobot Government and Industrial Robots president, said in a statement. "Robots give our troops the distinct advantage of completing critical missions at a safe distance; more robots create a greater strategic advantage. We are honored to serve our troops by delivering these robots for urgent deployment."

Along with spare parts and support, iRobot will supply the Army with an xBot prototype robot based on the company's iRobot PackBot military robot platform. Changes to the PackBot platform include a smaller and lighter robot with an observation mast equipped with a low-light-capable zoom camera among other technologies.

Company officials expect to deliver the first 101 robots for immediate deployment.