John Deere, iRobot Team Up to Make Robot

AP on Yahoo ^ | 10/25/04 | Mark Jewell - AP

[NormsRevenge]

BOSTON - In a trailblazing pairing of robotics and tractor companies, iRobot and John Deere announced plans Monday to build a 9-foot-long semi-autonomous battlefield vehicle.

Burlington-based iRobot Corp. will adapt the artificial intelligence technology used in its Roomba vacuums and portable PackBot military robots for a two-seat John Deere utility vehicle similar to ones the Pentagon (news - web sites) already uses.

The Military Robotic Gator, or R-Gator, will be the first of its kind to use off-the-shelf technology, making it easier and less expensive to produce than existing, custom-made vehicles, the companies said.

While the Pentagon is expected to be the first customer, the R-Gator's developers hope to eventually draw interest from elsewhere for use in everything from responding to chemical spills to patrolling borders, said Helen Greiner, iRobot's chairwoman and co-founder.

"The military is a great early adopter," Greiner said in a phone interview from Washington, where the companies announced their plans at a trade show for Army contractors.

Moline, Ill.-based Deere & Co. and iRobot plan to begin pilot production of the six-wheel R-Gator by the middle of next year at a production cost of about $250,000 apiece, Greiner said. Full production is to begin in 2006.

The vehicle, five feet wide, has three basic modes: autonomous, remote control or manually driven by onboard human operators. Depending on battlefield circumstances, the vehicle could be controlled remotely, freeing up the soldiers inside it for other tasks, Greiner said.

The vehicle will be able to relay real-time video, audio and sensor readings from the field. Such capabilities could allow for unmanned perimeter patrols of a military installation, or for reconnaissance or carrying supplies such as ammunition, the companies said.

The vehicle is based on John Deere's M-Gator, which U.S. forces have used extensively in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iraq (news - web sites). IRobot's PackBots have been used in thousands of missions in those two countries to disarm roadside bombs and search caves and buildings.

William "Red" Whittaker, a robotics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said the partnership will allow iRobot and John Deere to draw off each others' strengths in military robotics, where bigger players including Boeing and Lockheed Martin loom large.

The partnership signifies a maturating in robotics.

"These kinds of alliances would not have been viable 10 to 15 years ago, when those technologies weren't capable or the markets weren't ready for them," Whittaker said.

[NormsRevenge]

This is a 2004 photo provided by iRobot of a driverless vehicle on a test course in Massachusetts. John Deere Co. and iRobot announced plans Monday to build a 9-foot long semi-autonomous battlefield vehicle. (AP Photo/HO/iRobot)

[endthematrix]

Are they planning to compete in the DARPA challenge?

[Paul Atreides]

In a trailblazing pairing of robotics and tractor companies, iRobot and John Deere announced plans Monday to build a 9-foot-long semi-autonomous battlefield vehicle.

I thought that's what John Kerry was, for four months.

[Boundless]

> ... semi-autonomous battlefield vehicle

"semi-autonomous"
Translation:
Not expected to sweep the DARPA Grand Challenge for 2005,
and maybe not even enter.
http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/

[NormsRevenge]

..will use technology adapted from Roomba vacuums and portable PackBot military robots..

It should be able to clean up if it did run. ;-)

I hope somebody wins that DARPA challenge this year. Nobody got too far even tho some entrants looked very promising last year.

[Fatalis]

[Lokibob]

The DARPA vehicles have to be autonomous, not semi-autonomous.

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks for the DARPA challenge info.

It should be interesting to see if any can make it thru the course this year.

[Boundless]

> Are they planning to compete in the DARPA challenge?

http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/Rules_8oct04.pdf

3.1 Autonomous Vehicle Behavior Requirement

Participating vehicles must demonstrate fully autonomous
behavior and operation at all times during the NQE and
Grand Challenge Event. Vehicles must be unmanned, and no
animals are permitted onboard.

[Samwise]

ping-a-ling

[mlocher]

somehow, harvesting terrorists doesn't ring well with me. gotta come up with a better term. of course the thought of them going through a combine and coming out in a bale of hay would be worth the investment....

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks also for the clarification.

For more info, click the image.

[RIGHT IN LAS VEGAS]

I love my Roomba!

[toupsie]

It's an attack Roomba!!! :)

I love my iRobot Roomba Discovery. Works like a charm and I am always amazed how it . Now if they would only make one that attacked insects instead of dirt. That would be cool!

[endthematrix]

Roger that.

[toupsie]

ROOMBA!:)

[NormsRevenge]

Apolgies to the ring announcer.. But..

Let's get reaaadddy to roooombaaaaa!!! :-}

[streetpreacher]

Will this guy be driving it?

[hyperpoly8]

Employees of Roomba vacuum company like their jobs and their product just sucks. ;)

[endthematrix]

Re: (DARPA) entrants looked very promising last year.

I loved that Oshkosh truck.


http://www.oshkoshtruckcorporation.com/news/media_center~defense.cfm