Military and policing robots
In April 2016, iRobot sold off its Defense & Security unit, with a new company being formed called Endeavor Robotics. This unit became part of Teledyne FLIR in 2019.
Genghis (1991) was iRobot's first robot. It was designed as a test platform for researchers. The robot is currently at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
Ariel (1996) is a crab-like robot designed to remove mines, both in and out of water.
Urbie (1997) was a proof of concept robot designed for urban environments. The platform was designed with two tank-like tracks so it could climb stairs. Urbie was field tested at Fort Benning, Georgia, United States; one model was gifted to a local high school on indefinite loan in 2005. High school students at Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia, reconditioned the robot and created a usage manual for future students to continue to benefit from Urbie's list of talents. Urbie is built around a light, machined aluminum chassis. The exterior consists of flat aluminum plates, bent at the front and back, which are attached to the chassis with small hex screws. 2 dc motors power the forward rotating arms, while 2 slightly larger dc motors power the body length treads. From the outside, Urbie is an exact replica of the PackBot Scout. The front compartment holds 2 banks of LEDs, one white light, the other infrared. The center-front compartment holds a video camera and an infrared camera. Both cameras' images are transmitted back to a handheld LCD screen and remote control console via a single antenna. The image that is transmitted back is controlled by a mechanical switch, thrown remotely inside the chassis by a remote controlled actuator. The motors are controlled the same way that a remote control airplane or car is. The ability to reverse the tread direction on both sides gives the robot a 0m turn radius. In 2006, the exterior body was refinished, the antennas were repaired (replaced by a fishing pole) and some of the interior electronics were updated. The robot is simply constructed, with basic electronic controls, and is the same physical design as the current PackBots, it only lacks the digital processor.
SWARM is an artificial intelligence research project designed to develop algorithms for swarms of hundreds of individual robots. This project is sponsored by DARPA.
PackBot is a series of military robots designed for situational awareness, reconnaissance, explosive ordnance disposal and other missions. As of 2009, the US military had more than 2000 PackBots that were on station in Iraq and Afghanistan.
iRobot's platform for the United States Army's Future Combat Systems.
Warrior, announced in 2006,), is a 250 lb (110 kg) machine that can travel up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) through rough terrain and up and down stairs while carrying payloads weighing over 100 pounds (45 kg). Its potential uses include bomb disposal, battlefield casualty extraction and firefighting.
R-Gator, a product of a partnership with John Deere Corporation, is a small utility vehicle with a robotics package added. It is capable of autonomous operation including waypoint following with obstacle avoidance, following dismounted infantry and other vehicles and semi-autonomous operation such as teleoperation with obstacle avoidance.
Negotiator is a man-portable civil-response surveillance and reconnaissance robot.
Transphibian is a man-portable UUV and bottom crawler that autonomously inserts itself into the water and operates in a shallow area. It is designed for mine detection, harbor defense and surveillance. Transphibian was initially developed by Nekton Research, Inc. in Durham, North Carolina, which was acquired by iRobot in September 2008.
Chembot is a DARPA-funded prototype of a shape-shifting robot without motors, wheels or any rigid elements. It runs on chemical power and is made using dielectric elastomers, which are extremely flexible and can alter their shape in electric or magnetic fields. Ultimately, the program aims to build a robot that is completely squishy and able to squeeze through a hole 'the size of a 10 pence coin'.
Ember is a prototype miniature, tracked robot, weighing around 1 lb and costing so little to make that it is intended to be virtually disposable. Ember moves at walking pace, can right itself when it is turned over and is controlled by a simple touchscreen application on an Apple iPhone. Ember is a military robot designed to boost radio communications and capture video footage to aid infantry warfighters.
AIRarm is an inflatable arm robot developed by iRobot. The inflatable arm uses pumps to inflate the arm. Since the arm uses strings and actuators, no motors were used at the joints.
FirstLook is a small reconnaissance robot weighing 5.2 lb (2.4 kg) with a top speed of 3.8 mph (6.1 km/h) and line-of-sight control range of 200 m (219 yd). It has visible and thermal cameras and infrared sensors to gather and transmit images of buildings, caves, or other locations. It can participate in explosive ordnance disposal by carrying 2.5 lb (1.1 kg) of C4 explosive to an IED. The robot has the ability to mesh together a network of feeds from other robots to extend the range of its sensors. The FirstLook has CBRN detectors and is semi-autonomous, meaning it can perform tasks like course correction and flipping itself over without direct intervention. 100 were bought by JIEDDO in March 2012 and the Pentagon has ordered hundreds more.
