Robot Reviews

The downfall of Detroit's auto industry may have affected thousands of families in Michigan but it looks like potential growth nearby in an entirely new sector is steadily shaping up.

iRobot Corp., which recently put up an office in Troy, is in the process of expanding its current operations there. According to retired Navy Vice Admiral Joseph W. Dyer, president of iRobot's Government and Industrial Robots, Michigan is perceived to be "a place with a talented and educated work force. We see the Army's center of gravity for robotics at TACOM. We see an impressive lineup of government economic development assistance from the local up through state and federal that are poised to make things happen."

TACOM stands for Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, an organization devoted to developing cutting-edge technology in order to provide America's warfighters with overwhelming lethality, survivability, mobility, and sustainment. In other words, to utterly dominate in the battlefield - a condition where robots can fit in nicely.

We are now looking at a well-oiled research and development in the field of robotics in the region as iRobot has partnered with the University of Michigan's Ground Robotics Research Center. In addition to that, the Army's TARDEC (Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center) released $2M to fund projects in the same center. 

Right now, iRobot is manufacturing various battle-ready robots such as the Packbot, Negotiator, SUGV, Warrior, Seaglider, Ranger, and Tansphibian.