iRobot (the Bedford, Massachusetts based company) is at it again with their latest invention called the Warrior. Ladies and gentlemen this is no ordinary robot with much more to show off and little less to do, but it one developed specially for military combat situations. Honed by a large mechanical arm which can by the way has enough metal under the hood to tow a car or open its trunk using the handle. Now if you are wondering that if it a combat zone large wheeled robot then what else does it have in its armoury, well then let me tell you that it can climb stairs, cover rough terrain or smashing car windows with utmost ease courtesy its two meter long mechanical arm.
Warrior weight a little over 450 pounds and has caterpillar like tracks we are accustomed to seeing in tanks. Powered by an electric motor Warrior can churn up eight miles for top speed and the specially installed tracks and flippers give it the dexterity to climb obstacles half a meter in height. To test the warrior in real time conditions, two prototypes of the robot explored the damaged buildings at the site of Fukushima Daiichi power plant and the tests were good. Warriors will soon be seen in action as they are ready for manufacturing.
The software components of Warrior include iRobot’s Aware 2 software and can be operated using Xbox 360 controller, which is damn interesting as I can imagine the Warrior moving with the movement of controller’s right stick or left one for moving the hand. In the battlefield Warrior(s) can be used for search and rescue operations too. According to iRobot’s there will be other attachments like Xray equipment or firefighting gear also available for the Warrior in future days.
