New Integrated Payload Adaptation to be Demonstrated June 26-28 at the Joint CBRN Conference & Exhibition in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
BURLINGTON, Mass., June 26, 2006 – iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) today announced that Edgewood Chemical Biological Center has selected the iRobot PackBot® EOD robot as the platform of choice to create a new advanced radiation and chemical detection robot. Edgewood Chemical Biological Center of Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., home to the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, will integrate a new Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) detection payload with the battle-proven iRobot PackBot to create the first-ever robot with such a wide array of sensor capabilities.
The robot will be demonstrated in the CBRN Unmanned Ground Reconnaissance (CUGR) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program. The integrated robot – known as the CBRN Unmanned Ground Vehicle or CUGV – will be shown publicly for the first time at the Joint CBRN Conference & Exhibition in Fort Leonard Wood, June 26-28, 2006. The adaptation is an example of the limitless payload integration opportunities made possible by iRobot’s sophisticated and flexible PackBot digital architecture.
To date, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center has procured PackBot robots worth more than $570,000 for payload integration and testing. The iRobot PackBot-based CUGV will be provided to military operators for initial demonstration in the CUGR ACTD, and will remain with these operators for two years of follow-on experimentation. This will provide the basis to decide if the CUGV provides military utility.
The CUGV is designed to inspect potentially hazardous areas and send data back to warfighters and first responders, allowing people to stay out of harm’s way. The CUGV can collect chemical air samples and detect oxygen levels, lower explosive limits, volatile organic compounds and gamma radiation, as well as toxic industrial chemicals and chemical warfare agents. Current PackBot EOD customers are expected to have the option to integrate the CBRN payload when it becomes available.
“PackBot is the only robot to offer such a wide array of sensor capabilities,” said Vice Admiral Joe Dyer (U.S. Navy, Ret.), executive vice president and general manager of iRobot. “CBRN detection is ideally suited to a robot, and this is just one example of the many payload integrations we will begin to see for warfighters and first responders including firefighters, police and SWAT teams.”
To date, iRobot has delivered more than 500 PackBot robots to military and civilian customers around the world. These robots have performed tens of thousands of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and are credited with saving scores of soldiers’ lives. PackBot robots give warfighters the option to send a robot in first, providing important situational awareness and threat detection before humans are put into a potentially dangerous situation.
About iRobot Corp.
iRobot is a provider of robots that perform dull, dirty or dangerous missions in a better way. The company's proprietary technology, iRobot AWARE Robot Intelligence Systems, incorporates advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence. This proprietary system enables iRobot to build behavior-based robots, including its family of consumer and military robots. For additional information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.
For iRobot Investors
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Contact: | |
Elena Frigeri A&R Edelman for iRobot Corp. (212) 642-7799 Elena.Frigeri@ar-edelman.com |