iRobot · military or security robot
PackBot
A small, rugged tracked robot with flippers and an arm, grown out of a 1998 DARPA contract. It became the best-known small military robot of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
- Price
- —Contracts: $4.4M for 27 PackBot 510s plus spares (2011); $7.2M for 30 robots (Brazil, 2014). No list price.
- Height
- —Not published
- Weight
- 14.3 kgHeavier than 9%
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- 9.3 km/hFaster than 29%
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
Searched the World Trade Center debris in 2001 and entered the damaged Fukushima plant in 2011.
Real-world use
More than 2,000 used in Iraq and Afghanistan; Canada and Brazil bought units in 2014.
Maker
iRobotCompany · founded 1990 · Bedford, Massachusetts, United StatesAmazon's US$1.7B takeover was abandoned in January 2024; Chapter 11 filed 14 December 2025
How it stacks up
Against other military & security that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
PackBot is heavier than 9% of the 35 other military & security that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
PackBot is faster than 29% of the 31 other military & security that publish a speed. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: height, payload, joints, battery, price.
Public attention
How much public attention PackBot gets, from open data.
- 2,625 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (PackBot)
- 2 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
- about 30 units or vehicles reported by the maker or press (may be a company-wide total)
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Tracks
- How it runs
- Remote-controlled. Operators use a game-style hand controller and receive video, audio and sensor data from the robot.
- Actuators & motors
- Electric tracked chassis with flippers; zero-radius turns, climbs 60-degree inclines and stairs, fords about 3 ft of water. PackBot 510 tops out at 9.3 km/h.
- Hands
- Manipulator arm on EOD and other kits (the USMC RC2 version has a longer, stronger arm); Scout version had no arm.
- Sensors & vision
- Four cameras with night vision, zoom and illumination (510); kits add the Fido explosives sniffer, HazMat air samplers and the REDOWL acoustic gunshot locator.
- Battery & power
- Dual BB-2590/U lithium-ion batteries for 4 to 8 hours; an add-on power pod extends this to about 12 hours.
- AI & software
- Remote control by radio (about 1,000 m) or fibre-optic spool; video-game style hand controller on the 510.
- Other details
- PackBot 510 weighs about 14.3 kg; more than 40 accessories. Two units surveyed Fukushima Daiichi in 2011.
Lineage
Every iRobot (later Endeavor Robotics, now Teledyne FLIR) machine in order.
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- Not publishedContracts: $4.4M for 27 PackBot 510s plus spares (2011); $7.2M for 30 robots (Brazil, 2014). No list price.
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Built
- More than 4,000 PackBots fielded since 2002 (trade press, 2019); maker Endeavor had shipped more than 7,000 UGVs of all types
- Sold or delivered
- Sold to militaries and agencies in more than 25 countries; e.g. 27 PackBot 510s for $4.4m (2011), 30 units to Brazil for $7.2m (2014)
- Where it is sold or used
- United States (iRobot, Bedford MA; then Endeavor Robotics, Chelmsford MA; now Teledyne FLIR)
- Customers and pilots
- US Army and Marine Corps (2,000+ used in Iraq and Afghanistan), Canadian DND ($9.6m, 2014), Brazilian government (2014 World Cup security); two units sent to the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011
News
The latest 2, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- FLIR buys PackBot maker
Vision Systems Design reported FLIR's $385m cash purchase of Endeavor Robotics, which had shipped more than 7,000 ground robots to over 55 countries.
Vision Systems Design - FLIR agrees to acquire Endeavor Robotics
FLIR signed a deal to buy Endeavor, formerly iRobot's defence unit, from Arlington Capital Partners for $385m.
Inside Unmanned Systems
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every robot: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose
| Measure | PackBotiRobot (later Endeavor Robotics, now Teledyne FLIR) |  TALONFoster-Miller (QinetiQ North America)Same jobs: bomb disposal, reconnaissance · Both on tracks · Both on sale or in pilots |  tEODortelerob (now an AeroVironment subsidiary)Same job: bomb disposal · Both on tracks · Both on sale or in pilots |
|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2002 | 2000 | 2003 |
| Status | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial |
| Height | — | — | — |
| Weight | 14.3 kg | — | 360 kg |
| Joints | — | — | — |
| Speed | 9.3 km/h | — | 3 km/h |
| Payload | — | — | — |
| Battery | — | — | — |
| Price | — | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use