Digg icon reddit icon Stumbleupon icon
Print Email     Print Edition Stories
The Negotiator robot from iRobot Corp.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

IRobot introduces new Negotiator robot

By Mass High Tech Staff


Bedford-based iRobot Corp. has released a new robot for use by police officers and other public safety officials.

The robot, called the Negotiator, is intended for reconnaissance use by police, fire and homeland security personnel, according to iRobot (Nasdaq: IRBT). The company said the Negotiator is able to climb stairs.

The robot is intended to be a smaller, lower-cost version of the PackBot military robot, according to iRobot. 
 
Last month, the company received a $17.5 million order from the U.S. Army for 220 of its PackBot military robots. Also in July, Gov. Deval Patrick presented the robotics company with a $240,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development. The workforce training grant will be used to train 130 iRobot employees in Lean management practices.

In June, iRobot landed a $3.3 million, multi-year contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Army Research Office to create Chemical Robots (ChemBots) for use in unmanned urban search and rescue and reconnaissance work. The ChemBots, to be developed by a team of Harvard University and MIT researchers, will have the advantage of a flexible material structure that enables maneuvering through openings smaller than its own at-rest dimensions. Also in June, iRobot licensed an underwater autonomous vehicle from the University of Washington. The vehicles, called Seagliders, are designed to enable civilian, academic and military personnel to complete oceanographic measurements.

Founded in 1990 by MIT robotics researchers, iRobot reported a 2007 net income of $9.1 million on revenue of $249.1 million.




 

Comments

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.

Digg icon reddit icon Stumbleupon icon
Contact Editor Latest News

Tech Pulse Poll

What's your level of interest in Pinterest?



View Results

Stay Informed
Check which newsletter you'd like to receive.
TechFlash (Daily)
BioFlash (Daily)
GreenFlash (Weekly)
Startup Report (Weekly)
Breaking news, MHT events, local announcements
RSS feeds
Your email:

Affiliate publications: ACBJ.com, Boston Business Journal, Bizjournals.com, Portfolio.com, Wired.com

Web Site Developed by Neptune Web, Inc.

Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. About our ads.