PackBot is a series of

military robot Military robots are autonomous robots or remote-controlled mobile robots designed for military applications, from transport to search & rescue and attack. Some such systems are currently in use, and many are under development. History Broa ...

s by Endeavor Robotics (previously by

iRobot iRobot Corporation is an American technology company that designs and builds consumer robots. It was founded in 1990 by three members of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, who designed robots for space exploration and military defense. The com ...

), an international robotics company founded in 2016, created from iRobot, that previously produced military robots since 1990. More than 2000 were used in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

. They were also used to aid searching through the debris of the World Trade Center after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

in 2001. Another instance of the PackBot technology being implemented was to the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant after the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peni ...

where they were the first to assess the site. As of November 2014, the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

is refurbishing 224 iRobot 510 robots. The PackBot technology is also used in collaboration with NASA for their rovers and probes.

PackBot brief history

* 1998 – iRobot establishes a DARPA contract leading to the PackBot. * 2001 – iRobot PackBot used to search World Trade Center ruins after the 9/11 attacks. * 2002 – PackBot first deployed to aid United States Troops.

iRobot International PackBot orders

February 2011

released confirmation of a deal totaling $4.4 million for the first quarter of 2011 for the manufacturing of 27 PackBot 510's and spare parts to accompany them. In 2010, the industrial division of

accumulated $13.2 million in revenue for international orders for PackBot alone in more than 25 countries. In September 2014,

secured a deal with the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND). The contract was for the delivery of PackBot reconnaissance, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear systems. The contract was priced at $9.6 million and includes the training of military personnel to operate the equipment as well as lifetime repairs and technical support. PackBots have also been used in non military operations. In 2014 the Brazilian government received an order of 30 PackBots. The robots were used for security purposes during the 2014

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

and the deal totaled $7.2 million in order to police the twelve host cities during the soccer matches. To date,

has delivered upwards of 5000 different robots including PackBots internationally.

NASA and PackBots

The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) has a partnership with the company, iRobot. NASA's

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, La Cañada Flintridge, California ...

(JPL) is a facility responsible for the development of robotic space-crafts as well as the

Deep Space Network The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is a worldwide network of American spacecraft communication ground segment facilities, located in the United States (California), Spain (Madrid), and Australia (Canberra), that supports NASA's interplanetary ...

. Among these space-crafts are the rovers sent to the planet Mars. The rovers '' Spirit'' and ''

Opportunity Opportunity may refer to: Places * Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States * ...

'' sent to Mars in 2003 are just two of the rovers managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Mars is not the only place employing iRobot technology. In 2011, Japan was rocked by a strong earthquake causing a meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear reactor. Two PackBot rovers were deployed into the ruins of the nuclear power plant to assess damage where the radioactivity was at high enough levels prohibiting humans from exploring. The projects involving the cooperation of iRobot and NASA allowed the creation of high-tech machines. The much needed physical structure of the robots was designed by iRobot while the instruments and science equipment onboard was provided by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Current PackBot 510 variants

PackBot 510 is the current base model. It uses a videogame-style hand controller to make it more familiar to young operators. * PackBot 510 with EOD

Bomb Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

Kit designed for

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...

identification and disposal. * PackBot 510 with Fast Tactical Maneuvering Kit designed for infantry troops tasked with

inspection. This is a lighter weight robot. * PackBot 510 with

First Responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or ...

Kit designed to help

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

teams and other first responders with situational awareness. * PackBot 510 with HazMat Detection Kit collects air samples to detect chemical and radiological agents. * PackBot 510 with Fido utilizes the Fido Explosives Detector from ICx Technologies as a payload in order to "sniff" out explosive materials. With the Fido, the PackBot now has the capability of locating explosive devices and subsequently disarming them using on-board robotic capabilities. * PackBot 510 with REDOWL Sniper Detection Kit utilizes the Acoustic Direction Finder from BioMimetic Systems to localize gunshots with azimuth, elevation, and range. * RC2 –

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

version of the 510 PackBot with a longer and stronger arm, more cameras, communications variations, and better track propulsion.

PackBot Performance

PackBot 510 has a maximum speed of 5.8 mph or 9.3 km/h, and weighs 31.6 lbs. or 14.3 kg. The robot can traverse mud, rocks, stairs, and other surfaces due to its

caterpillar track Continuous track is a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight of the vehicle ...

. The robot also has zero radius turn capability, and can climb up to a 60 degree incline. The dual BB-2590/U Li-ion rechargeable batteries allow for the robot to have a run time of 4 to 8 hours. Adaptive Materials Inc. (AMI) has created a power pod battery capable of extending the life of the PackBot. The power pod weighs 6 kg(13 lbs) and allows for extension of battery life to reach 12 hours. It can maneuver in up to 3 feet of water. PackBot has more than 40 accessories which are illustrated in PackBot 510 variants. Additionally, the robot can communicate up to 1000 meters or 3281 feet, and captures information through four cameras with night vision, zoom, and illumination capabilities that allow for real time image processing.

Previous PackBot variants

* PackBot Scout is the basic configuration. It has five payload bays for assignable purposes and can be dropped from a height of six feet (1.83m) onto concrete without being damaged. The Packbot scout version weighs about 40 pounds (18 kg). * PackBot Explorer Carries an integrated payload which can be elevated to allow peeking over obstacles or cover. Payload has a

camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with ...

head equipped with multiple cameras, laser pointers, audio and other

sensor A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

s. ** The Explorer variant, was used to explore the

debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can refer to ...

of the World Trade center after the attack on

in search of victims and assessing the structural integrity of the debris by sending back images. * PackBot EOD (explosive-ordnance disposal) can be controlled by radio, or alternatively via a multimode Fibre Optic cable spool mounted on the robot. The Fibre Optic cable option is used in situations involving potential radio signal triggered explosive devices, thereby reducing the risk of personal injury.

Packbot Deployment

The main use of the Packbot in the field is IED detection and defusing. The Packbot Scout was the first deployment of the Packbot and sent to

in 2002 to explore caves and bunkers. This model was the simplest Packbot which contained just a robotic arm and camera. As of 2007 Packbots have been deployed to aid in the detection of sniper fire in the middle east. Acoustic signatures detected by the robot allow ground troops to pinpoint sniper fire in battle. Packbot has also been used to explore buildings and other possibly dangerous areas with the modified light Packbot Explorer which only weighs 30 pounds and is faster than the Packbot 510. In addition,

sent two Packbot 510 robots to Japan after the tsunami and earthquake destroyed Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The robot was used on several reconnaissance missions at the power plant to remove debris and measure radiation readings.

References

External links

Howstuffworks' website about the PackBot

Website of Endeavor Robotics, the manufacturer of the PackBot

PackBot details in manufacturer website.
{{iRobot Unmanned ground vehicles Military robots IRobot