We all knew that the technology behind helpful little
Roomba (and its cousin
Scooba) couldn't remain benign for long, and now
iRobot has slid deeper into bed with the U.S. military, adding sniper-detecting gear to its already-deployed
PackBots. At yesterday's U.S. Army convention in
Washington, iRobot was showing off its new PackBot-mountable REDOWL (Robotic Enhanced Detection Outpost With Lasers)
system, which is capable of zeroing-in on an enemy sniper's location and videotaping his surroundings with a Sony
camcorder. The REDOWL (named after the head-rotating bird of prey) is composed of a laser rangefinder, sound detection
equipment, thermal imager, GPS receiver, and four separate cameras. REDOWL-equipped PackBots (which had previously been
used to locate and detonate explosives) are able to
distinguish between different muzzle sounds and are not fooled by gunshot echos in urban battlegrounds. Fortunately
there are no immediate plans to attach guns to these bots, which could have created some dicey situations when soldiers
pop open that celebratory can of beer after a battle.
[Via The Raw Feed]