A bit of color on the new 2.0
iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) today announced the beta release of the iRobot Aware(TM) 2.0 Robot Intelligence Software, the first major enhancement to the software platform for iRobot's family of tactical mobile robots. This also marks the first time the company has offered its Aware software platform, through a rich set of application programming interfaces (APIs) and utilities, to third-party developers. The company also unveiled the Robot Developer's Kit (RDK), a new set of hardware tools for creating next-generation payloads for military robots.
The new software and associated tools are designed to give developers a head start in creating advanced payloads and capabilities for all iRobot platforms, including the battle-proven iRobot PackBot(R) robot.
iRobot will brief partners on Aware 2.0 and the RDK at the second annual iRobot Payload Developers Conference taking place Dec. 5 to Dec. 6 at the Double Tree Crystal City in Arlington, Va. At the event, technology developers from government, military and university research labs as well as payload developers will attend in-depth sessions on how to create payloads that enable robots to take on a greater variety of real-world challenges.
"Robots are a critical security and intelligence component of 21st -century warfare," said Vice Admiral Joe Dyer (U.S. Navy, Ret.), president of iRobot Government & Industrial Robots. "iRobot's Aware software and Robot Developer's Kit will quickly and easily expand the universe of available payloads, so our troops and first responders can benefit from new innovations."
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), among other iRobot partners, has signed on as a beta tester of the new development tools. H.R. (Bart) Everett, technical director for robotics at SPAWAR said, "SPAWAR is very excited to be an Aware 2.0 beta tester. We think its powerful development tools will significantly expedite our ability to tightly integrate different payloads and behaviors onto iRobot platforms, and thus facilitate a richer mix of plug-and-play options for the warfighter."
iRobot products use the company's innovative Aware Robot Intelligence Systems, which oversee dozens of sensors that monitor the environment to gather feedback and instantly adjust the robot's behavior in response. Aware allows robots to effectively and intelligently navigate in complex and dynamic real-world situations.
Aware 2.0 integrates years of field-proven experience. With the 2.0 beta release, Aware will provide a new level of intelligence, including:
-- An extensible, network-centric, component-based architecture designed for easy third-party development and integration
-- Portability across a variety of operating environments
-- A powerful set of development tools and support for many proven open-source technologies
Developers can find out more about the conference and sign up to attend at www.irobot.com/filelibrary/iRobot-06-Dev-Conf-Broch.pdf. |
