The design was inspired by the iRobot Packbot which has a set of treaded appendages sticking off the front end. These ensure that the vertical face of an obstacle, such as the beginnings of a ...

Developed by iRobot, PackBot is a versatile robot used for bomb disposal and reconnaissance missions. It gained fame for its role in defusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in conflict zones ...

What DARPA was interested in, and one of the things that got military funding, was the PackBot, which is made by iRobot, the same people who make Roomba, which was used for bomb disposal.