Photos: Robots as toys, tools and teachers

The Red Owl, from iRobot, Biomedic of Boston University and Insight, can be mounted on most vehicles, including a jeep or Humvee, and even on one of iRobot's PackBot tactical robots. It has Acoustic Direction Finding technology that detects and maps the sound of gunshots amid the chaotic ambient noise of battle. It can identify the type of weapon used to fire a shot and the distance the shot traveled, and can triangulate multiple gunshots to determine the location of a shooter. The U.S. military hasn't yet used Red Owl in actual combat but has been testing the device in battle simulations.