IRobot sues rival
IRobot Corp. said today it filed two lawsuits against Worth, Ill.-based Robotic FX Inc. and its founder and president, a former iRobot employee, Jameel Ahed.
Robotic FX sells the "Negotiator", a version of the combat-proven iRobot PackBot robot, said Burlington-based iRobot. IRobot has shipped more than 1,000 PackBot robots to military forces in the U.S. and abroad, where they have been used in such missions as cave clearing in Afghanistan.
IRobot is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent Robotic FX from selling its Negotiator robot, plus damages.
The company filed a lawsuit against Robotic FX in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama for infringement of two U.S. patents, and a separate lawsuit against Robotic FX and its president, Jameel Ahed, in Massachusetts Superior Court. IRobot is alleging misappropriation and misuse of confidential information related to iRobot's PackBot that was used to build the Negotiator.
PackBot was the first ground robot ever to be used in combat by U.S. forces. (AP)
