The company behind household helpers such as the Roomba and Scooba, and military and police robots such as the PackBot and Negotiator, has released an updated version of its Warrior 700 robot.
iRobot’s vice president of operations for government and industrial robots, Tim Trainer, said that two prototype Warrior robots were used to explore damaged buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site, following last year’s tsunami.
They were used to clean up radiation-contaminated rooms with a vacuum cleaner taped to the robot’s arm to suck up radioactive dust.
Like its predecessor, the newly-launched 710 Warrior from iRobot is designed for EOD (explosive ordnance disposal), reconnaissance and surveillance missions. It can lift loads of up to 100kg and carry payloads of more than 68 kg over rough terrain.
Measuring 89cm long, 46 cm high (in stowed configuration) and 77cm wide, the 710 Warrior weighs 157kg with battery and flippers installed.
It can travel at speeds of up to 12.9 km/h thanks to its electric motor that packs enough punch to allow the robot to pull a car.
The unmanned robot is controlled via an operator control unit powered by iRobot’s Aware 2 robot intelligence software. It can be fitted with optional obstacle avoidance sensors, compass and GPS.
The remote operator can monitor views from the robot’s multiple cameras in real-time at distances of up to 800m.
Designed to be highly configurable to adapt to a range of missions, the robot can be fitted with a variety of payloads, including an APOBS (Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System) and various weapons and accessories, as well as a manipulator arm that can extend 192cm, with enough dexterity to open a car door.