Pocketbots might become valued addition to battlefield gear

Pocket robots displayed at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference in August might be the next major advancement in military robotics, reports Noah Shachtman at Wired’s Danger Room blog.

Unlike larger unmanned ground vehicles used for uncovering and removing improvised explosive devices, micro robots, such as iRobot’s Firstlook and Recon Robotics’ Throwbot, are small enough to be thrown and would enable soldiers to scout dangerous areas in both urban and rural settings.

The Army and Marine Corps are expected shortly to issue urgent battlefield requests for 3,500 to 5,000 of the micro robots, the blog states.