Among the $1.3 billion in Pentagon contracts awarded Friday, one tiny company won a sizable part of the funds available, when Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot (IRBT -1.37%) was awarded a $28.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract.
The U.S. Navy gave the award to iRobot, ordering an unspecified number of Man Transportable Robotic System, or MTRS, "production systems, depot level repair parts, spare kits, depot repair services, parts supply, training, engineering enhancements, configuration management, and approved accessories."
MTRS is a small robotic vehicle modeled on iRobot's successful 510 PackBot design and is used by the U.S. Marine Corps (which orders through the Department of the Navy) in bomb disposal work, in particular for disarming roadside IEDs. iRobot is expected to deliver the ordered bots by April 2014.
