Army cancels Robotic FX contract

The Army has canceled a $280 million contract with a Chicago-area robot maker that is being sued by iRobot Corp. of Burlington.

Robotic FX Inc. of Alsip, Ill., in September won the contract to supply up to 3,000 robots for use by bomb-disposal soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, iRobot was suing Robotic FXcq in federal courts in Massachusetts and Alabama. The suits alleged the Robotic FX robots featured patented technologies and trade secrets belonging to iRobot.

Joanne Byrd, the Army administrator overseeing the contract, said in October that she was putting the deal on hold pending further investigation.

On Friday, Byrd said ‘‘The Robotic FX contract is no longer in existence.’’ She cited ‘‘peripheral complications’’ as the reason for the cancellation, but offered no further details.

Officials of Robotic FX could not be reached for comment, and iRobot officials said they had no additional information about the government’s decision. (By Hiawatha Bray, Globe staff)