U.S. Army orders 150 of ReconRobotics' reconnaissance robots
Minnesota company receives order for 150 of its Recon Scout IR miniature reconnaissance robots; the Recon Scout IR is less than 7.5 inches long and three inches wide, and weighs just 1.2 pounds, making it easy to carry in a pocket or on a vest
Robotics is good business, and will only become more so. Edina, Minnesota-based ReconRobotics, Inc. has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army for 150 of its Recon Scout IR miniature reconnaissance robots. ReconRobotics will begin making deliveries on the $1,350,000 contract in May 2009. All of these Recon Scout IR robots will be manufactured in St. Paul, Minnesota. “ReconRobotics is honored to assist the U.S. Armed Forces in defending our country,” said Ernest Langdon, director of military sales for ReconRobotics. “The lightweight, throwable Recon Scout IR will allow our troops to assess hostile situations from a safe distance and plan operations with greater confidence and safety. Every infantry unit or special operations team should have access to this life saving capability when they go into harm’s way.”
The Recon Scout IR is a man-portable, remote-controlled reconnaissance robot designed to provide military personnel with immediate video surveillance of hostile environments. The Recon Scout IR is less than 7.5 inches long and three inches wide, and weighs just 1.2 pounds, making it easy to carry in a pocket or on a vest. Personnel can deploy the robot in under ten seconds by throwing or driving it into the target environment, and its small size and extremely quiet operation make it difficult to detect as it moves. The robot systems’ video and command signals have a line-of-sight range of 300’ outdoors and 100’ indoors, depending on number and composition of intervening walls. The robot uses a no-light camera system with IR emitters, which gives the warfighter a clear, crisp image of the environment even in total darkness.
The Recon Scout IR is also designed to survive the punishing environment of the military battlefield. It can withstand repeated forceful impacts such as those delivered by throwing the robot 100’ or dropping it from a height of 30’ onto a concrete surface. The Recon Scout IR has a zero turning radius and can move at speeds of one foot per second. Directing the movement of the robot requires just one hand, leaving the soldier’s other hand available for a firearm or radio.
The company says that more than 100 police and security agencies, including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the National Reconnaissance Office, and several special warfare branches of the U.S. military already use the Recon Scout and the Recon Scout IR for tactical reconnaissance in high-risk operations.
