Thursday, October 2, 2008

IRobot’s Warrior bots garner $3.8M from Army

By Mass High Tech Staff

The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) has awarded iRobot Corp. with a $3.8 million research and development contract for the delivery of two iRobot Warrior 700 platforms, iRobot officials announced.

The iRobot Warrior carries up to 150-pound payloads and covers inaccessible and dangerous areas with sensor readings and real-time video and audio. The robot also features a different center of gravity than previous robots, adding to its mobility, according to iRobot.

The U.S. Army has awarded Bedford-based iRobot (Nasdaq: IRBT) with a significant amount of military bot deals. Last week, the company secured a $19.1 million contract for its xBot systems -- a part of two larger contracts worth $286 million for a PackBot 510 package and $63.6 million for PackBot orders respectively.

According to iRobot officials, the company has shown the Army that it is able to deliver up to 100 PackBots per month, if called to do so. IRobot reported a 2007 net income of $9.1 million on revenue of $249.1 million.