Then, in the late 1970s, word came that the breeder reactor program would be phased out. Our basic goal was to show people how to handle things remotely. After some initial efforts with robotic arms, we gravitated toward bomb squad work. The order came not from a nuclear power plant but from the FBI, and the business took a new turn. The largest, designed for military operations, is roughly the size of a home garden tractor.
Most models can crawl up and down stairs.
The smallest, about the size of a picnic cooler, can fit into a car trunk. Rolling up and down airplane aisles, it can remove suspicious objects from under seats or from overhead compartments. You need something that can actually think. That's why you want a human operator in the loop. One especially important payoff from investments in high-tech firms is their ability to penetrate export markets.