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iRobot CTO steps down -- ironically, looks to "rehumanize" US manufacturing with robots
iRobot -- the company best known to consumers as the creator of Roomba and to soldiers as the creator of Packbot bomb disposers -- just lost its CTO and co-founder, Rodney Brooks. While Dr. Brooks will continue to serve on the board of iRobot and serve as chairman of a new technical advisory board, he'll be devoting most of his time to Heartland Robotics, a new, non-competing company with the following corporate mantra: "Heartland Robotics is combining the power of computers - embodied in robots - and the extraordinary intelligence of the American workforce, to rehumanize and revitalize manufacturing." By "rehumanize" we assume they mean replace the American manufacturing workforce with robots. Come on Brooks, grow a pair of Ayn Rands and just say what you mean.[Via Maximizing Progress]
iRobot Negotiator is a tactical bot for those mean suburban streets
There's a new iRobot in the wings, ready for that all-important cat-in-a-tree incident your neighborhood has been gearing up for over the past decade. Well, kind of. The new iRobot Negotiator is designed for "public safety organizations" who don't need or can't afford the $100k PackBot 510. The Negotiator is built to provide basic reconnaissance to police and fire departments and public safety professionals, with an optional "civil response kit" to enhance its spybot prowess and chemical detection capabilities. The Negotiator should start shipping in Q4 2008 for around $15,000, with accessories bumping that price up to $20k and giving it flippers to climb stairs.Update: We just noticed that the iRobot Negotiator bears some, erm, striking similarities to the Robot FX Negotiator. If you'll remember, not only did iRobot win its lawsuit against Robot FX, it also bought up all of Robot FX's assets. Sounds like this is iRobot's shot at recouping some of those hefty court fees, but couldn't they have at least changed the name?
Native iPhone app controls Packbot via WiFi, delivers streaming POV video
Sure, you love your iPhone, but did you ever feel like there was just one application missing from the home screen... besides MMS, IM, or a video recorder? If you're like us, that missing application was a full-featured Packbot control program replete with streaming POV video and a standalone, direct WiFi connection that doesn't require a proxy machine to pass along commands. Rodrigo Guiterrez and Jeff Craighead -- the brains behind this operation -- claim that next up they plan to utilize the phone's accelerometers and a fullscreen video display to deliver a "you are there" experience for bot-steering. Engadget and its team of armed Packbots can hardly wait. Check the video after the break to see it in action.
iRobot takes up the ChemBot challenge, no one is safe
Hide your kids, iRobot just got that ChemBot contract DARPA was shopping around last year, which means that before we know it, sentient bots will be oozing through keyholes and making really bad movies without regard for human life or decency. Probably. The project is a "multi-year, multi-million" R&D effort to build robots that are soft and flexible, and can squeeze through openings smaller than their actual "structural" dimensions. And of course the bots can't be stupid piles of ooze, either, they'll need to identify obstacles and report back findings. iRobot is teaming up with Harvard and MIT for the project, and expects to be working in research from fields as diverse as chemistry and "actuator technologies" to build the bots.
iRobot to convert UW's academic Seaglider into military drone
It was more than a year ago when we first told you about the Seaglider (aka, Deepglider) autonomous robot used for academic research. As of today, it has the deep pocketed backing of iRobot. As soon as the ink dries, iRobot gains the sole rights to the University of Washington's technology and its long-range, high-endurance vehicle -- 70 of which are already making "oceanographic measurements" around the world. Presumably speaking to a crowd of generals with an affinity for Buck Turgidson, Helen Greiner, co-founder and chairman of iRobot said: "We have a strong track record for transferring new technology from research initiatives into products that support military missions. Ten years ago we transformed the original PackBot into a combat-proven robot used today by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and licensing the Seaglider from the University of Washington will help our robots conquer new underwater frontiers." Really Helen, conquer? Enemies of The State, you've been warned.[Via gizmag]
Metal Storm demos FireStorm firearm-equipped iRobot bot
iRobot's various military robots are already capable of packing some weaponry, but it looks like Metal Storm is set to give their arsenal a considerable boost, with it recently demonstrating its remotely-operated FireStorm weapons system on one of iRobot's standard Warrior platforms. That system essentially makes the ammunition the only moving part in the weapon, with it able to fire bullets electronically at a rate of thousands of rounds per minute (or "theoretically" even up to a million), which Metal Storm says makes the system ideal for a whole range of applications including, somewhat ominously, "crowd control."
U.S. Military using Wiimote-controlled Packbot to disable bombs
We like the way the U.S. military thinks. One of the Wii's biggest flaws is the painful stretches of downtime between its bigger releases, causing dust to settle on Nintendo's minuscule console and cobwebs to form on our Wiimotes. What better way to get more mileage out of our neglected gyroscopic peripherals than to use them to blow up actual bombs and landmines?This must have been the thought process of those techno-wizards at iRobot, who have modified their Packbot model to be controlled by a standard Wii remote. It seems they discovered that Nintendo's motion-sensitive controller doesn't just lend itself to instinctive, natural interaction with games like Wii Tennis, but also with maneuvering rifle-mounted, explosive-detonating robots -- just remember to always use the wrist strap. Impaling a TV screen while hitting the Wii Bowling lanes is embarassing, throwing the reigns of a gun-toting war machine is just plain irresponsible.
iRobot intros the Verro 100 and 500 poolbots
The folks at iRobot updated the Verro pool-cleaning robots much to the chagrin of our pool boy, Philip, who's getting his walking papers next week. The new 100 and 500 models join the current 300 and 600 to cover a wide array of price ranges, and probably meet most -- if not all -- of your exacting standards for water-body cleanliness. The 100 comes in at the low-end of the spectrum at $399, though it will navigate and clean any flat-bottomed pool you throw its way; the Rolls-Royce of poolbots, the 500, will do floors and walls alike for $999. Of course, you won't know anything about that -- you'll be busy lounging, working on your tan, and trying to figure out whether you want the Bentley Brooklands or Azure (hint: the Azure!).
iRobot garners award for DARPA LANdroids initiative
Get ready, battlefields, as yet another iRobot is gearing up to take you all by storm. Announced today, the aforementioned outfit has received an award under DARPA's LANdroids program which will enable it to "develop a new portable communications relay robot that is small, inexpensive, intelligent and robust." The resulting creature will reportedly be used in "dense urban environments to rapidly deploy and maintain a vital communications infrastructure," and better still, they'll be tough enough to be thrown into position and intelligent enough to "autonomously detect and avoid obstacles while navigating." Unfortunately, it seems the conclusion of said project is still a few years out, but we can already envision soldiers getting antsy to never be forced to utter "can you hear me now?" again.[Via InformationWeek]
LawnBott LB3500 offers Bluetooth control, stylin' rims
iRobot may own the market for autonomous indoor cleaning devices, but when it comes to taming that wild jungle you call a backyard, the new king of the hill may well be the LawnBott LB3500. This fourth-generation LawnBott from Kyodo America improves upon its predecessors in nearly every category: even though it weighs ten pounds less than the entry-level LB2000, it offers up a greater coverage area, increased cutting width, greatly improved incline climbing capability, longer runtime, and best of all, a Bluetooth radio for programming or direct control by cellphone. Of course, all these high-end features don't come cheap, and when the LB3500 does come to market (date: unknown), we imagine that it's gonna cost a good deal more than the current high-end, $2,500 LB3200. Check out the gallery below for some more angles.Update: Wow! Reader John Locke somehow managed to send an email from the island notifying us that The Robot Store has the LB3500 listed at $3,699, on sale for "only" $3,249. Also available is the "Super" LB3500, which is really just a kit that includes two extra lithium-ion batteries and tacks almost $600 on to the price. Thanks, John, but we bet Jack and Kate won't be too happy when they find out you have Gmail access.%Gallery-14640%[Via Slashgear]
Video: iRobot Looj treats gutters like an olympic event
Here you have it. iRobot's latest domestic robot, the Looj. Turn him loose in your gutters and you can remote control the little green varmint until the floods return. Click through for the video to learn all about it. You'll be happy you did.
iRobot shows off PackBot 510 with FasTac Kit before delivery to the Army
As Danger Room reports, iRobot's currently working hard to churn out the bots that'll form the so-called "robot surge" the Army has planned, but the company did recently take the time to show off the robot at the center of it all, an updated version of its standard PackBot dubbed the "PackBot 510 with FasTac Kit." This one's apparently smaller and lighter than the company's other battle-tested bots and, as you can see above, it's capable of performing some fairly impressive contortions (more pics are available at the read link below). That light weight and agility apparently make the bot ideal for infantry use, with it also able to identify roadside bombs and other IEDs and dispose of them accordingly. Still no home version though, although we're suppose a similar iRobot Create mod isn't entirely out of the question for the particularly skilled bot-builders out there.[Photo courtesy of Danger Room]
PrintBot gets creative with Talcum powder
Looking to get your message (way) out there, but don't exactly have the means to rig up, say, a van-sized StreetWriter? Fret not, as a clever DIY'er has managed to craft a smallish printer that can blast largish text onto nearly any surface. By utilizing an iRobot Create, an old dot-matrix printer, an eBox 2300 x86 PC, a counterweight and a good bit of Talcum powder, you too can be expressing yourself on football fields, sidewalks or street corners in no time. Best of all, you can control the thing from your high-rise thanks to the built-in wireless capabilities, but you may want to strap some weaponry on it if you really plan on sending your own PrintBot out on a solo mission.
iRobot wins lawsuit against Robotic FX
It's been a long, winding, shady road, but the lawsuits between iRobot and Robotic FX are finally over, with a federal court in Massachusetts ruling the Robotic FX had stolen iRobot's trade secrets, and another federal court in Alabama ruling that Robotic FX had infringed on iRobot's patents. In addition, the Massachusetts court ruled that Robotic FX had destroyed evidence and violated fair trade practices. iRobot has agreed to buy "certain residual assets" of Robotic FX, which is dissolving as of today, and founder Jameel Ahed is barred from competing in the robotics industry for five years. iRobot says all this litigation cost the company $2.9 million -- that's some expensive dumpster diving.
iRobot awarded $286 million military contract
In a shocking tale of totally expected events, iRobot has been awarded a tidy $286 million army contract to produce a merciless, bone-crushing battalion of 3,000 peaceful, loving, bomb-disarming robots (and their spare parts). This comes hot on the heels of Robotic FX getting its walking papers (as well as a canceled contract) on the same military work, so we can't exactly say we're surprised. Just another chapter in the ever-unfolding legal and philosophical drama that is the iRobot / Robotic FX story. iRobot -- this round is all yours.
Army: "The Robotic FX contract is no longer in existence"
A bad weekend for Robotic FX could mean good things for iRobot. On Friday, the US Army canceled its $280 million order for up to 3,000 of Robotic FX's bomb-detecting robots. According to Joanne Byrd, the Army administrator overseeing the contract, "The Robotic FX contract is no longer in existence." Harsh, and a tad confusing if you accept the fundamental axiom that existence exists. She did cite "peripheral complications" as the reason without going into detail. Though we're pretty sure that iRobot's injunction against Robotic FX had something to do with it. The move opens the door to iRobot as the next-lowest, qualified bidder for the XBot contract. Great. Perhaps when everyone is done futzing about with their lawyers and lobbyists we might actually get a few bots deployed to protect the innocents?[Via Xconomy, thanks Jonas]
iRobot adds swank mapping kit to PackBot
iRobot has unleashed yet another semi-autonomous robot ready to take on whatever the battlefield throws at it, but this one's got a much better feel of where it's headed. The PackBot with Mapping Kit ups the ante by "creating a real-time two-dimensional structural map for the soldier while on the move in theater," essentially enabling the operator (and his / her squad) to see what's just ahead without having to slip into potentially dangerous scenarios to find out. Apparently, the kit utilizes an array of sensors and artificial intelligence to relay the structural map while "simultaneously detecting and avoiding obstacles in its path." Heck, let's just strap a railgun on this thing and let the soldier kick back at the base.[Thanks, Jonas]Read - Press releaseRead - PackBot with Mapping Kit homepage
iRobot wins injunction against Robotic FX
iRobot's soap-opera-esque trade secret and patent lawsuits against rival Robotic FX entered a new phase last night, as the US District Court in Boston handed down a preliminary injunction preventing Robot FX from acting on a $279M contract to build Negotiator robots for the Department of Defense. Saying that Robotic FX CEO Jameel Ahed's admissions that he'd destroyed evidence "profoundly undermined" his credibility, the judge ruled that there was enough of a likelihood that iRobot would win its trade secret case to warrant an injunction -- the idea being to keep Robotic FX from gaining any benefits from a possible theft. The judge didn't make the exact terms of the injunction public, but she did order a trial to begin no later than April 4 -- which means there's still a lot of drama to come.[Thanks, Jonas]
iRobot announces winner of Create Challenge contest
While it's not quite on the level of NASA's or DARPA's ongoing challenges, iRobot's Create Challenge contest nonetheless looks to have at least given some incentive to a few homebrew enthusiasts / would-be mad scientists, one of whom has now taken home a cool $5,000 for his troubles. Snagging that cash was Danh Trinh of Towson, Md, who's "Personal Home Robot" won over the judges with its ability to water plants, control lights, play music, and remind owners to take their medication, among other less-than-strenuous activities. Helping it manage all that is iRobot's DIY-friendly Create platform which, as you can see above, went under a pretty extensive transformation on its way to first place. Be sure to hit up the Instructables link below for the complete rundown.Read - iRobot, "iRobot Selects Create Challenge Contest Winner"Read - Instructables, "iRobot Create Personal Home Robot"
iRobot readying bigger, deadlier Warrior X700 robot
It looks like those that found iRobot's earlier Warrior robots a tad lacking could soon have some of their demands answered in the form of the new and improved Warrior X700, which the company recently took the wrap off. Weighing in at a hefty 250 pounds, this one promises to carry a 500 pound payload with ease, and lift upwards of 150 pounds with its robotic arm. Of course, with a name like "Warrior," it'll also be doing more than just carrying supplies, with it just as capable of firing a machine gun or some 40mm explosive rounds, the latter of which can be done at 16 rounds a second. The bot's apparently not ready to be put into service just yet, however, with it currently only able to muster up a top speed of ten miles per hour, although iRobot says it'll be able to do a four-minute mile by the time it ships out in the second half of next year.[Via Danger Room]
