Familiar ControlsHere's the PackBot Meet the Packbot, a UGV all about seeking out and finding IEDs while the operator is at a safe distance. More on Military RobotsSteering a PackBot 510 is just like playing a video game. The UGVs from iRobot (yes, the people who make the Roomba) come with a joystick designed to be like a video game controller. Anyone who’s ever played with an Xbox or Sega Genesis will find the controller very familiar. Part of what makes the PackBot 510 so attractive to the military is the UGV’s flexibility. For instance, when tricked out with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or EOD, Kit the ‘bot can seek out and find improvised explosive devices (IEDs) while the operator is at a safe distance away. The base is fitted with spool loaded with 825 feet of optical fiber and a wide-angle drive camera with multiple positions for forward, rear and downward views. The EOD kit comes with an ICx Fido explosives detector. The detector can sniff out explosive vapors and other particles emanating from munitions and IEDs. The 7-foot-long extending arm has the ability to look under cars, around corners and through windows and place an explosive detector next to a potentially dangerous package. The Packbot was also designed to go anywhere. It can climb stairs, roll over rubble and navigate narrow, twisting passages all thanks to its “flippers”. These “flippers” can continuously rotate 360 degrees, making it easy for the ‘bot to traverse rocks, mud, snow, gravel and other tough terrain at speeds of up to 5.8 miles per hour (9.3 km/h). The Packbot’s polymer tracks eject debris and move the robot over all surfaces with sure-footed efficiency. PackBot 510 even climbs grades up to 60 degrees. Over the past five years in Iraq, the PackBot has completed thousands of successful missions, saving countless lives in a potentially lethal atmosphere. |
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