TASER, iRobot announce partnership!

iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT) has announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with TASER International, Inc. to develop new robots that can "remotely engage, incapacitate and control dangerous suspects with integrated TASER electronic control devices."
The new TASER-equipped PackBot robots will allow the remote zapping of dangerous suspects "while keeping personnel, the suspect and bystanders out of harm's way."
A proof-of-concept model, the iRobot® PackBot Explorer™ with TASER X26 device, has been created and will be demonstrated at the annual TASER Tactical Conference, July 9-10, at the Westin O'Hare in Chicago.
"iRobot continually looks for new or proven technologies from best-of-industry companies to integrate on our battle-tested robots," said Vice Admiral Joe Dyer (U.S. Navy, Ret.), president of iRobot Government & Industrial Robots. "The addition of TASER technologies onto iRobot platforms will provide a critical tool for SWAT, law enforcement and military to handle a variety of dangerous scenarios."
“TASER International is very excited to be entering into this alliance with a forward thinking and proactive company such as iRobot,” said Tom Smith, chairman of TASER International. “We have been working on expanding the delivery platforms of our proven TASER Neuromuscular Incapacitation (NMI) technology. Integrating our technology with the increasingly necessary capability of remotely controlled or autonomous systems is a natural fit. Further, working on this integration with a company that matches our customer commitment, technical capability, and innovative spirit is very exciting for us and will allow both companies to significantly expand in this market. Stay tuned for what I know will be exciting new product and capability offerings resulting from this collaborative effort.”
What is particularly of note here is that this opens the door to semi-autonomous military robots employing nonlethal technologies. There has been concern, of course, about adding guns to robots and sending them off as terminators, but the TASER seems to be a reasonable interim step. This could also easily be deployed in jail riots, in law enforcement situations, etc.

The iRobot press release is here.

The TASER press release is here.