iRobot Corp., a global leader in offering robotics solutions, has declared that it has received a procurement order for spare parts of iRobot PackBot tactical mobile robots and software updates for iRobot Aware 2 robot from the U.S. Army TACOM Contracting Center in Warren, Mich.
This $14 million order will enable the US army to replace the currently used iRobot 510 FasTac fleet with the latest iRobot 510 PackBot multi-mission robots and it is the 20th order under the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) xBot agreement. The total worth of this contract is $286 million and the present net contract value is around $143 million.
The iRobot 510 PackBot multi-mission robot carries out effective disposal of explosives and other risky combat operations performed in Afghanistan and Iraq. This robot is highly adaptive and is driven by iRobot Aware 2 robot intelligence software. Its innovative digital layout incorporates multifarious exchangeable payloads which help the robot to perform various tasks and the robot can be reorganized instantly as per the mission requirements. The Aware 2 software enables the execution of augmentative autonomous operations, thereby offering enhanced awareness of the situation and decreasing the workload of the defense personnel.
Robert Moses, President of iRobot’s Government and Industrial Robots Division expressed his happiness in offering significant software upgrades and spare parts to the US army. He said that this agreement will enable them to develop more consistent robots which can include future upgrades to meet the increased addition of autonomous capabilities and new payloads. He added that this purchase order assures that their robots are well maintained and can be readily employed in combat areas for protecting lives.
Source: http://www.irobot.com