IRobot gets $286M Army robotics contract
IRobot Corp. won a $286 million contract to supply the U.S. Army with bomb-disarming robots, wresting the deal from a smaller rival that iRobot claimed stole its trade secrets.
Shares of iRobot rose nearly 4 percent after Tuesday's announcement of a deal to supply up to 3,000 of a new, smaller and lighter version of iRobot's track-wheeled PackBot. The contract also requires iRobot to provide spare parts, training and repair services over five years.
After rising as high as $19.50 Tuesday morning, shares of iRobot were up 68 cents to $17.87 at midday.
Burlington-based iRobot, which also makes consumer robots such as Roomba vacuum cleaners, said it would immediately deliver the first 101 robots to the Army for rapid deployment.
IRobot already has delivered more than 1,200 PackBots, which have disarmed roadside bombs and searched caves and buildings in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some scout dangerous areas before soldiers or emergency responders go in.
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