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( www.irobot.com) have signed a teaming agreement to design and develop a next-generation, small unmanned ground vehicle (SUGV). The vehicle will provide military, civil, and commercial users with unprecedented reconnaissance and secure, real-time intelligence capabilities. The new robot, called the SUGV Early, will be a smaller and lighter version of iRobot’s PackBot model, which is used in Iraq and Afghanistan to disarm Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and search through hos- The iRobot SUGV is a compact remote-con- tile areas. To date, iRobot has delivered more than trolled robotic system capable assisting in dif- 900 PackBot robots to a broad range of military ficult military, civilian, and law-enforcement and civilian customers worldwide. The robot com- operations. mercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology and employs the basic design of future networked robotic systems currently under development for the United States Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. It will be ready for delivery in 2008.
According to Dennis Muilenburg, vice president and general manager, Boeing Combat Systems, “This partnership allows Boeing and iRobot to combine our expertise, capabilities and resources to provide customers with a small robotic vehicle that can perform a variety of surveillance missions and assist soldiers, law enforcement officials and rescue workers performing high-risk operations.” Joe Dyer, retired US Navy Vice Admiral and president of iRobot Government and Industrial Robots, adds, “By teaming with Boeing, we can leverage their system-of-system capabilities and global marketing strength to quickly get these life-saving robots into the hands of our troops, first responders and allies worldwide.” Under the partnering agreement, Boeing will provide expertise in systems integration, large volume production, and global marketing, while iRobot will design, develop, and manufacture the robots. Boeing and iRobot will jointly offer these commercial robots to all US Department of Defense, civil, and international markets.
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Mini-Systems Recognized By NGST NORTHROP GRUMMAN SPACE TECHNOLOGY (NGST, www.northropgrumman.com) recently recognized the Thin Film Division of Mini-Systems, Inc. ( www.minisystems.com) with “Gold” supplier status. This marks the third consecutive year that Mini-Systems has received NGST’s Gold status. To receive this recognition, suppliers must maintain a high level of product quality and on-time delivery of at least 99 percent (an increase from 98 percent in 2005). Mini-Systems was among only 71 suppliers from a total of about 1000 vendors to receive the 2006 NGST Gold Supplier Award. According to Charlie Heckrotte, material director at NGST, “Our ‘Gold’ suppliers are critical to the spacecraft we build and to the lives they save.”
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