Meet Pumbaa. It’s energetic, agile, powerful, and listens on command. Just like any other canine, it loves taking walks, but afterward needs a long nap before jumping back in action again. What’s not to love, other than Pumbaa is not soft and fuzzy like other office dogs but rather hard and mechanical.
So how did Pumbaa become a Rajant mascot? Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Dawid Preller and Australian Droid + Robot who packed up Pumbaa and traveled 7,500 miles from Brisbane, Australia to Phoenix, Arizona to showcase Pumbaa at Rajant’s 2019 Partner Summit in April. Rather than take Pumbaa back to the Land Down Under, Dr. Preller gifted Pumbaa to Rajant to house in their Malvern office.
Pumbaa is an Explora droid manufactured by Australian Droid + Robot. The underground inspection robot holds a Rajant BreadCrumb inside to provide wireless connectivity. With eight ruggedized wheels, no weather condition or terrain is too tough for this vehicle to conquer. Used mostly in underground mines, the Explora droid is especially used to navigate through muddy and swampy terrain conditions. The BreadCrumbs provide a high availability and long-distance network helpful for the droid’s underground applications. The mesh networking capabilities are useful, since the droid is typically used in conjunction with several other vehicles, which can function as network nodes. Essentially, these nodes allow the droid to go deeper underground without losing maneuverability and signal.
Pumbaa is walked around Rajant’s office campus often for demo purposes and never ceases to turn the heads and impress bystanders. Rajant is thrilled have Pumbaa as part of its team and excited to see what he accomplishes next. 🖉
