iRobot has filed suit against Robotic FX, a company run by a former iRobot engineer, declaring its Negotiator robot to have used proprietary iRobot PackBot designs, Defense News reports.
The Robotic FX web site is ultra-snazzy, showing lots of videos, etc. The base Negotiator (pictured) is a 20-pound robot that looks sort of like a PackBot Scout without flippers. The top-of-the line 45.9-pound Negotiator 6X looks like a PackBot, pure and simple. (One video shows it towing a Chevy Suburban, wonder how they managed that?)
The company announced the Negotiator Tactical Surveillance Robot was available for sale in 2006. The release calls it "competitively priced." (Presumable cheaper than PackBot. Anybody know?)
In January, Robotic FX announced it was adding FIDO bomb-sniffing technology to its Negotiator line.
The web site features two "testimonials," one from 2004 and one is from Nov. 2005.
Maybe iRobot should buy out Robotic FX for it's web design? (Although the site is hard to navigate...)
(thx, jsrn23)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
iRobot files suit against Robotic FX, alleging PackBot ripoff
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