The Ranger is a man-portable Unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that supports technology development related to mine warfare, expeditionary warfare, homeland defense, underwater surveillance / reconnaissance and other missions, made by the Massachusetts robotics firm iRobot. Ranger is also designed for ocean research and commercial applications related to search and survey, such as oceanography.
Unlike the iRobot Seaglider which is propeller-less and motor-less, the Ranger has a propeller and is meant for shorter range missions.
Ranger weighs less than 20 kilograms (44 lb), travels at speeds up to 15 knots (17 mph) and is programmed via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. It can carry a variety of sensors for different kinds of data monitoring.
Ranger was initially developed by Nekton Research, Inc. in Durham, North Carolina. iRobot acquired Nekton Research in September, 2009. [1] [2] [3]
References
edit- ^ "iRobot Corporation: Ranger". iRobot. Archived from the original on 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ "How iRobot Took the Plunge into Underwater Vehicles". xconomy.com. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ "iRobot Dives Deeper into "Next Frontier" of Underwater Robotics with $10M Acquisition of NC Firm". xconomy.com. Retrieved 2009-03-11.