Consumer/Household Robotics

Robots seem to be involved in our everyday life. Some of the robots are doing household tasks we could be doing ourselves, like mowing your lawn. The Robo-Mow was invented quite recently. It is completely electronic, requiring no gasoline. With a control panel, it cuts your lawn by itself. It has a recycling system, so it recycles the

Lawn clippings, nourishing the soil.

The roomba is an automated vacuum cleaner. It navigates it’s self around objects, and also is completely electric.

Military / Industrial robots

Robots are currently being developed for Government and Military purposes, ones being such as the Military R-Gator a scouting vehicle, a supply carrier, a perimeter guard and more. The IRobot Corporation and John Deere are to begin pilot production of the R-Gator by Mid-2005, and full production scheduled to begin by 2006.

There also is the PackBot series. The PackBot Series takes three forms. The first PackBot EOD is designed to dispose of bombs, for search -and –surveillance, hostage rescue, and other law enforcement tasks for Bomb Squads, SWAT teams, Military units, and other authorities.

The second is the PackBot Scout. This design is an unmanned ground vehicle military battle uses. It can be hand carried, and can be deployed by a single person. The PackBot Scout has already been tested in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has been proved the ideal “Point Man” to search dangerous and inaccessible areas. It provides soldiers with a safe look so they know what to expect. The PackBot scout weighs only 18 kilograms fully loaded, and is only 20 centimeters high. The third and last of the PackBot series is the PackBot Explorer. The Explorer version allows soldiers to stand in safety while the PackBot relays back video, sound, and sensor readings. The PackBot explorer can explore inaccessible areas and search for any surprises such as booby traps and land mines.