Robotics Rodeo features iRobot SUGV

iRobot's SUGV and PackBot 510 with FasTac kit were featured at a robotics rodeo last week held by the U.S. Army.

Key quote: “We've all fought and we've lost friends on places where unmanned ground vehicles could have done the task equally well, and I regret that like you'll never know,” Lynch, who lost 153 GIs while leading the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, told the men. “If I had done a better job fielding unmanned ground vehicles, those young people would still be alive.”

An iRobot exec also is quoted talking about the problem with small robots being that the enemy could pick it up and carry it away as a war trophy in an urban environment. (Sounds like a great idea -- send in a fleet of 'em as Trojan Horses with radio tracking so you find the enemy lair! Easy.)

The Houston Chronicle has the story.

Also of note, the R-Gator also made an appearance. That model, a John Deere/iRobot collaboration, has been in the prototype stage for years now but hasn't been able to generate real-world orders of consequence.

Tags: iRobot, robot, SUGV