cryptogon.com

Early versions of the multimission iRobot Warrior X700, the latest offering from the Burlington, Mass.-based robot makers, are slated to be ready by the second half of next year.

“It is the largest vehicle that can still go into a building. We’re looking at urban warfare and going into lots of different types of buildings with it,” said Helen Greiner, iRobot chairman and co-founder. “We really think of it as a multimission platform. It can be deploying weapons systems. It can be doing re-supply operations, taking ammo or water to troops who are pinned down, perimeter security and building clearing.”

Configured with tracks similar to its smaller predecessor, the iRobot PackBot, the heavier Warrior can carry a 500-pound payload and use its robotic arm to lift 150 pounds.

“Right now, it can go 10 miles per hour. When we finish the development, it will be able to do a four-minute mile,” said retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Joe Dyer, iRobot’s president of the government and industrial division. “You are starting to see the first robot that can really haul your pack and be not only a partner but be a stronger and faster partner.”

In addition to being ruggedized for carrying supplies, the Warrior and PackBot are being engineered with advanced software, giving them the ability to perform some battlefield functions autonomously.

“The software says, ‘Hey, robot, get back up yourself.’ If you lose [communications], right now you have to go get the robot,” Dyer said. “A capability they are building into PackBot is if you lose comms, go back to where you could talk last and re-establish comms on your own.”
At the same time, a key dimension to the Warrior X700 is its ability to protect soldiers by firing weapons such as a machine gun or 40mm explosive round.