Article Posted on : - Jul 04, 2011

Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGV). Photo: iRobot.

BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS (BNS): US military for Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGV) has awarded a $7.4 million contract to iRobot for the procurement of the robots by the end of June, 2011.

SUGV, a tactical mobile robot, gathers situational awareness in dangerous conditions for warfighters and public safety professionals.

"SUGV robots give the operator a chance to assess potential threats before sending in personnel. A better understanding of the operating environment results in greater mission success and more lives saved," Robert Moses, president of iRobot’s Government and Industrial Robots division, was quoted as saying in the company news release.

iRobot and Boeing developed the SUGV family of unmanned ground vehicles under a strategic alliance that began in 2007.