PackBot is a series of military robots by iRobot, an international robotics company founded in 1990. More than 2000 were used in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were then used again to aid searching through the debris of the world trade center after 9/11 in 2001. Another instance of the PackBot technology being implemented was to the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami where they were the first to assess the site. As of November 2014, the U.S. Army is refurbishing 224 iRobot 510 robots. The PackBot technology is also used in collaboration with NASA for their rovers and probes.
The company iboot is focused on researching and developing robot technologies. The company also partakes in "a future for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education" as an educational outreach. The company achieved $617 million in revenue in 2015. There are also offices located in multiple countries around the world. Below is a brief history of the company:
February 2011 iRobot released confirmation of a deal totaling $4.4 million for the first quarter of 2011 for the manufacturing of 27 PackBot 510's and spare parts to accompany them. In 2010, the industrial division of iRobot accumulated $13.2 million in revenue for international orders for PackBot alone in more than 25 countries. In September 2014, iRobot secured a deal with the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND). The contract was for the delivery of PackBot reconnaissance, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear systems.The contract was priced at $9.6 million and includes the training of military personnel to operate the equipment as well as lifetime repairs and technical support. PackBots have also been used in non military operations. In 2014 the Brazilian government received an order of 30 PackBots. The robots were used for security purposes during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the deal totaled $7.2 million in order to police the twelve host cities during the soccer matches. To date, iRobot has delivered upwards of 5000 different robots including PackBots internationally.