Novint Technologies, Inc., which develops, markets and licenses technology that adds a high-fidelity interactive 3D touch to computing, reportedly has been awarded a subcontract with iRobot Corp. for a military robotics project funded by the Secretary of Defense Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise through the Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC).

In a release, Novint officials said that as part of subcontract, the company will co-develop a Remote Touch Kit (RTK) for one of iRobot's military-grade unmanned ground vehicles, called the PackBot.

With the RTK, soldiers will, for the first time, experience force and tactile sensing when operating the PackBot from a distance.

Company officials said that the RTK will allow soldiers to feel how hard the PackBot's "gripper" squeezes an object, safely pick up and handle fragile objects, and feel when the robot's arm touches a wire or reaches a movement limit.

When driving the robot, soldiers will also feel bumps and jerks of the robot, improving performance over rugged terrain.

The result, according to officials, will be greatly reduced task times and operator burden, increased dexterity and situational awareness, and reduced training.

"As demand for unmanned military robots continues to grow, Novint's touch technology will play a crucial role in enhancing operator control during mission-tasks such as bomb disposal or surveillance," said Tom Anderson, CEO of Novint Technologies, in a statement.

Anderson said that iRobot is the leader in developing next-generation robotics capabilities and has delivered more than 2,500 PackBot robots to the military.

He said that Novint is pleased to be working alongside iRobot to deliver new capabilities that will help keep soldiers out of harm's way.

In August Novint Technologies and JoWooD Productions Software, a publisher of computer and video games, had announced that they have entered into an agreement to make several of JoWooD’s most popular game titles available for the Falcon PC game controller.