BusinessForeign orders for Mass.-built bomb-disposal robots

Published 9 February 2011

Massachusetts-based robot maker received orders for twenty-seven additional bomb-disposal robots from unnamed international customers; the company has delivered bomb-disposal robots to more than twenty-five countries

iRobot of Massachusetts has announced international orders for twenty-seven PackBot bomb-disposal/reconnaissance robots in the first quarter of 2011. The orders for the 501 Packbots, which included provisions for spare parts, were worth $4.4 million, the company said.

Our allies recognize the life-saving benefits provided by our robots,” said Robert Moses, president of iRobot’s Government and Industrial Robots division. “The emerging international market provides an important growth opportunity for iRobot and one in which we invested heavily in 2010.

We think that over time, sales of the iRobot PackBot and Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles into this market could total 15 to 20 percent of our government and industrial product revenue.”

UPI reports that iRobot’s Government and Industrial Robots division said in 2010 it received international orders totaling $13.2 million.

The identities of the customers were not disclosed but the company said it has delivered its government and industrial line of robots to more than twenty-five countries, seven of which were new customers last year.