US Army Orders a Bunch of Rolling Recon Scout XT Robots

October 6th, 2011 by: Shane McGlaun

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The military is quickly adopting all sorts of robots and unmanned hardware for the battlefield in an effort to protect soldiers as much as they can be protected while fighting. One of the things that the military is doing is adding more robots to the field to allow the soldiers to see around corners and check out suspicious things they find without risking harm.

There are all sorts of robots in use within the military – some of them can roll around to fight with their own weapons, and others are designed to simply give a look at what is over a wall or around a corner.

The Army has purchased 315 ReconRobitics Recon Scout XT video reconnaissance robots that soldiers can throw up to 120 feet (and operate from as much as 300 feet away outdoors) to give them a look at what’s going on ahead of them. The tiny bots measure just 8 inches long and weigh just 1.3 pounds, and have gnarly looking spiked wheels so they can navigate difficult terrain. It even has an automated infrared mode for seeing in dark environments.

The Army also bought SearchStick accessories that allow the Recon Scout XT to be put on a stick and lifted up in the air to see over walls. Each of the Recon Scout XT bots can be deployed in just five seconds. It has a rechargeable battery and a single button controller for simplicity.

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