The Concordia Station (Candidi 2003), on the Antarctica
Plateau, will soon become one of the best observatories to perform
infrared observations in the 2–20 μm atmospheric windows and
beyond, thanks to its low sky background, low temperature and
high atmospheric transparency. The possibility of passively
cooling the telescope is a further advantage. We describe here
the first permanent Antarctic infrared telescope, under
development for the Dome C base. It is the International
Robotic Antarctic Infrared Telescope (IRAIT). We briefly outline
a few scientific motivations for it, then we review the technical
characteristics and the status of its development. The infrared
camera for IRAIT is described in another dedicated paper in this
volume.