By B.C. Kessner
As iRobot [IRBT] continues to fill orders for its various PackBot tactical mobile robots, the company is delivering new robot intelligence software for old and new variants aimed at making the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) workhorses in theater more interchangeable and compatible, a company executive said recently.
“We are delivering the iRobot Aware 2 software this year on a JUONS [Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement] program for the MTRS [Man Transportable Robotic System], and next year will be an upgrade to a Mk 1 Mod 1 configuration that will have backward compatibility to the older versions,” Tim Trainer, vice president, operations, iRobot Government and Industrial Robots, told Defense Daily 27 Oct. at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Symposium in Washington, D.C.
Aware 2 is a core software architecture specifically designed for robotics and autonomous behaviors and it hosts the applications for each of the different sensors arms or add- on capabilities of the platform.
“The good thing about Aware 2 is that it allows plug and play across [the family of iRobot] platforms,” Trainer said. Previously, every type of gripper arm or sensor had to be integrated individually for each robot, limiting interchangeability and interoperability, he added.
“It speeds things up for the operators from the plug and play perspective, and it also makes development costs significantly less,” Trainer said.
Another aspect of Aware 2 includes autonomous behaviors that reside in the software, such as vehicle self-righting and retro traverse, Trainer said. “It will have collision avoidance, it’s a development item.”
Current variants running Aware 2 have enhanced obstacle detection and obstacle avoidance. “We need some additional sensors in what we call the Aware Head, and then again, as that is developed, we’re able to take that and move it onto one of the other platforms.”
Last month, iRobot received a $14 million order from the Army for the delivery of Aware 2 software and spare parts for iRobot PackBots. That order was designed to allow the Army to upgrade its existing iRobot 510 FasTac fleet to the iRobot 510 PackBot multi-mission robot.
It was the 20th order under the $286 million Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) xBot contract. The current total contract value now stands at about $143 million.
On the Navy side, the company is delivering 110 systems for the EOD technical division’s MTRS program, Trainer said. These are Mk 1 Mod 0 systems, and iRobot is developing a Mk 1 Mod 1 design upgrade to the MTRS. Both versions will have Aware 2 software, he added.
The MTRS robot gives EOD technicians the ability to detect, identify and disable explosive devices from safe distances. It was customized for Naval Sea Systems Command and modeled after the battle-tested PackBot 500 with EOD Kit, the company said.
Under the JUONS, iRobot is actually delivering Mk 1 Mod 1 systems that hardware-wise are nearly identical to what will be delivered next year for MTRS, Trainer said.
JUONS systems also get delivered through the Navy–the lead common EOD activity–and get dispersed to various EOD units in theater. JUONS systems have Aware 2, however there are issues with it being jointly compatible with older versions, Trainer said. “What we don’t want to is field an Aware 2 system and not be able to drive older versions, so for the immediate JUONS requirement, there will be a unique Aware 2 software that will only work on those 110 robots,” he said. Next year, through a development program, deliveries will have a dual boot system, able to run the older and newer versions of the software and fully backward compatible, he added.
“This is a FasTac version we sell to the Army, that’s a Mk 1 Mod 0, and here’s a Mk 1 Mod 1,” Trainer said at the company’s AUSA display. “It’s all kind of a mix and match right now, but I can convert the old to the new…and interchange payloads once they all have Aware 2,” Trainer said.
iRobot has delivered more than 3,500 unmanned ground vehicles to the military and civil defense forces worldwide.