Army awards $32M contract to iRobot for recon robot

[PfcHammer]

http://www.masshightech.com/displayarticledetail.asp?Art_ID=65391

Army awards $32M contract to iRobot for recon robot

04/13/2004 10:26 AM

Burlington-based iRobot Corp. has won a contract worth an estimated $32 million to develop a next-generation Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.

The Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) is a portable, reconnaissance and tactical robot that can enter and secure areas that are either inaccessible or too dangerous for humans. SUGVs provbide real-time intelligence while allowing the soldiers to stay out of harm's way.

According to iRobot, the new contract will allow the company to grow its engineering department by more than 15 percent in 2004.

Boeing and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) together serve as the lead systems integrator for FCS, with iRobot and 22 other partners selected for the development and demonstration phase of the Army program.

FCS is a networked "system of systems" composed of 18 components, from troop carriers and self-propelled artillery to robots, unmanned ground vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles and sophisticated sensors. It uses advanced communications and other technologies to link soldiers with the components of the system, giving them access to data that can provide a much more accurate picture of the combat environment than is now available. The new equipment will replace many of the heavier tanks and other vehicles that have been in the Army's inventory for decades.

[Endangered Specie]

1. I think "Wrecken Robot" would be a better term...knowing the military.

[Snazzy]

2. U.S. Company Cheers Loss of Its Robot in Iraq

U.S. Company Cheers Loss of Its Robot in Iraq
Mon Apr 12, 6:24 PM ET Add Technology - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Greg Frost

BURLINGTON, Mass. (Reuters) - A U.S. robot manufacturer on Monday hailed the destruction of one of its units in Iraq and said it showed how valuable the machines have become for the U.S. military.

iRobot Corporation learned last week from the Pentagon that one of its units, called a PackBot, was "destroyed in action" for the first time. Its destruction meant the life of a U.S. soldier may well have been saved, the company said.

"It was a special moment -- a robot got blown up instead of a person," said iRobot CEO Colin Angle.

...

Between 50 and 100 PackBots are now being used in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites) for battlefield reconnaissance, search-and-destroy missions of explosives and ordnance disposal, while the soldiers who control them keep out of harm's way.


The 42-pound (19-kg) base unit, known as the PackBot Scout, costs around $50,000 and operates in adverse conditions such as navigating steep terrain, exploring mountain caves, falling off cliffs and fording streams.

....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=8&u=/nm/20040412/tc_nm/arms_robots_dc

[daleo]

4. Now they get to sell another one

I guess they will cheer.

[daleo]

3. There goes Azimov's first law of robots

He speculated robots would have to be programmed to never harm humans, lest they eventually take over. I guess these guys never read that book.

[jus_the_facts]

5. how long will it take before iRobot becomes self aware.....

:nuke:

[EV1Ltimm]

6. and what?

slowly rolls around town and takes your picture?

:)

[Mithras61]

8. and how long after that until...

it begins to fight back...

[davhill]

7. This is the Future

First the armed predator, now robot infantry. No more worry about the political fallout of casualties. No VA benefits. Huge profits for the corporations that keep churning them out. Soon war will be so risk free that we can have lots and lots of it.

[Moderator]

9. locking

It's against DU rules to post entire articles (copyright)