Marines order 75 man-portable robots from iRobot for battlefield situational awareness
BEDFORD, Mass., 7 Aug. 2015. U.S. Marine Corps unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) experts are ordering 75 man-portable ground vehicle robots from iRobot Corp. in Bedford, Mass., under terms of a $9.8 million order announced this week.
Officials of the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., are asking iRobot to provide 75 SUGV robot systems, which are relatively light versions of the iRobot PackBot. The SUGV, which stands for small unmanned ground vehicle, has a dexterous manipulator for jobs like disarming roadside bombs.
The SUGV, which is small enough for one infantryman to carry, can enter areas that are inaccessible or too dangerous for people to provide situational awareness for infantry troops, combat engineers, explosives ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians, and other personnel.
The iRobot SUGV has a wearable controller, heads-up display and game-style hand controller, and can climb stairs and overcome over battlefield obstacles. It has a fixed-focus camera that can respond to infrared illuminators, and a control radio that operates at frequencies between 2.4 and 4.9 GHz.
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The man-packable robot is nine inches high with manipulator in its stowed position, weighs 29 pounds, and can travel at 6 miles per hour, clear obstacles as high as one foot, and can run through six inches of water.
Its operator controller weighs six pounds, has head-up glasses, 852-by-600-pixel SVGA display, and a game-style hand controller. For more information contact iRobot online at www.irobot.com, or Marine Corps Systems Command at www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
