Robotics company, University of Washington partner to develop undersea robot

The Boston Globe (6/10, Reidy) reported that the Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot Corp., announced that it has "signed a licensing agreement with the University of Washington that 'will help our robots conquer new underwater frontiers.'" iRobot manufactures "PackBots, robots that can perform dangerous tasks on battlefields, and household robots such as the Roomba, which can do vacuuming chores."

In its News blog, CNet (6/10, Lombardi) noted that the company "made the announcement Tuesday at the annual symposium for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)." According to CNET, "the agreement is to commercialize an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) called the Seaglider." It "was developed at the Applied Physics Laboratory and the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington, in conjunction with the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research." The Seaglider is expected o have "military application potential," according to a "public statement from co-founder and Chairman Helen Greiner." CNet pointed out that, "as part of the deal, the University of Washington will retain the rights to continue to develop and build Seaglider robots for its own research use."