Intelligent robot vendor iRobot this week licensed Laser Radar or Ladar technology for use in its line of military robots, a move that could result in a new line of machines that can see and operate more effectively in dangerous situations. Such small, advanced robots could be deployed in less than a year, experts said.
Specifically the robot-maker is licensing Advanced Scientific Concepts’ 3-D flash Ladar which uses laser beams to scan and process targets. The system has the ability to create a virtual 3D picture of an entire area.
“It’s one of the holy grails of robotics to be able to do that,” William Thomasmeyer, president of the Pittsburgh-based National Center for Defense Robotics, a federally funded consortium of companies, universities, and government labs told the Christian Science Monitor. “It’s like the smaller robots have been trying to navigate with one arm tied behind their back when compared to larger robots…. [Now] that hand becomes untied for smaller robots, and they’ve got the same advantages in terms of sensors and sensing as larger robots do.”