U.S. Army procuring more robots

BEDFORD, Mass., April 1 (UPI) -- More U.S.-made small tactical robots for reconnaissance, checkpoint inspection and other duties have been ordered by the U.S. Army.

iRobot Corp. said the Defense Acquisition Board formalized its approval to purchase more of its 320 Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles under the Brigade Combat Team Modernization program in February.

The approval authorizes the delivery of 76 SUGVs for two additional infantry brigade sets.

iRobot has delivered 45 SUGVs as part of the Army's low-rate initial production contract for the first brigade set of BCTM Increment 1 capabilities.

iRobot also continues to develop the follow-on variant of the SUGV for the BCTM program. This SUGV variant will provide enhanced processing, sensor and communication capabilities and is expected to be available in the 2012 timeframe.

"We are pleased that the U.S. Army has announced its intent to procure two more brigade sets of SUGV," said Robert Moses, president of iRobot's Government and Industrial Robots division. "It's a testament to the positive feedback we have received about SUGV since being fielded.

"These robots are meeting Army requirements and performing as expected on the battlefield."

iRobot and Boeing teamed to develop the SUGV, a smaller and lighter version of the combat-proven PackBot.