Company Building Robotic War Balls for Marines

A research firm in Stamford, Connecticut, is working with the Navy to build an amphibious drone that can storm beaches, Defense One reports.

The device, called GuardBot, is a rolling ball that can move over water at 4 mph and over land at 20 mph.

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GuardBot can climb a 30-degree incline and uses a nine-axis stabilization, "pendulum motion" propulsion system, Defense One reports. The GuardBot is propelled by shifting its center of gravity back and forth.

Creator Peter Muhlrad told the website that the Guardbot can be reproduced in a variety of sizes from 10 centimeters to nine feet.

GuardBot, Inc., has a cooperative research development agreement with the Navy, which provides research and resources. Companies under such agreements get to produce their products commercially, and the government gets the right to use the technology.

Eventually, the GuardBot will be deployable anywhere in the world using geographic information system data.

The GuardBot has cameras on either side and is designed primarily for surveillance and object inspection, but when asked whether it could carry explosives, Muhlrad answered, "Yes."

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