Tel Aviv company to supply robots to New Zealand Defense Force

Roboteam will supply a family of robots that operate on a wireless mesh network, a communications network based on radio nodes controlled from a single control unit.

MAY 22, 2019 18:28

Three of Roboteam's robotic solutions (photo credit: SHAI DVIR) — Three of Roboteam's robotic solutions

(photo credit: SHAI DVIR)

Tel Aviv-based tactical ground robotic system developer Roboteam has won a tender to supply the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) with dozens of remotely-controlled robots, the company announced on Wednesday.

While the value of the deal has not been specified, it is estimated to be worth millions of dollars. Roboteam was awarded the bid through its partnership with Trakka Tech, an Australian provider of solutions for critical mission requirements.

Roboteam will supply a family of robots that operate on a wireless mesh network, a communications network based on radio nodes controlled from a single control unit.

The company will equip the NZDF with three robotic products. It will supply its Transportable Interoperable Ground Robot, an 80 kg. robot designed to handle suspicious packages, hazardous materials and gather information, and its Micro Tactical Ground Robot, a 10 kg. mobile robot providing 360-degree peripheral vision and an advanced arm capable of four degrees of freedom.

It will also supply the NZDF with its Individual Robotic Intelligence System, a miniature, deployable and ruggedized unmanned vehicle system weighing only 1.5 kg. and able to operate in small, cramped environments, transferring an image operator to an android device or to the unified control unit.

"We are proud that the New Zealand Defense Force has chosen our family of life-saving robotic platforms as a comprehensive solution to its operational needs," said Roboteam CEO Elad Levy, who co-founded the company in 2009 with Yossi Wolf.

"This choice demonstrates the superiority of the advanced technological solution we have developed in recent years, which consists of various systems, each unique in their own right, and with the added operational value of the systems working as a single unit," Levy said. "We will continue to develop and improve the innovative operational concept that is being offered to other users around the world, and we believe that this is only the first step that will lead to additional successes."

To support the tender, Roboteam will establish a dedicated robotics support laboratory in Australia, that will also handle the company's numerous clients in Asia Pacific.

The company currently sell its products in more than 20 countries worldwide, including the United States, Australia, Thailand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.