A few weeks ago, a small company named iRobot made the headlines when it introduced Roomba, a robotic vacuum cleaner costing less than $200. (Check "Never vacuum your house again: Here comes Roomba" for details.)
The privately held 12-year-old company has three divisions: one for the military, one for the industrial sector and one for the consumer.
IRobot's products include the CoWorker, a robot that can be operated via a Web browser, and MicroRig, a robot used in oil-well bores. For the military, the company created the PackBot, which saw some action in Afghanistan.
Larry Dignan , from CNET News.com, recently interviewed Colin Angle, co-founder and CEO of iRobot. Here are some excerpts.
Q: Where do you see robotics heading, and what has to happen to get there?
A: The future of robotics is the development of increasingly sophisticated products that deliver the same type of price performance and abilities. The PC started off as a curiosity, but once it became useful and had more productivity than its price tag, it took off and the rate of innovation took off. For the PC, the rate of innovation was slow until that economic hurdle was passed.
The computer was doing things no one has ever done before with financial tools such as spreadsheets. With Roomba and robotics, you're replacing some kind of physical labor. The kid next door is cheap and does a pretty good job, so the challenge of a robotic appliance is one that demands a true understanding of the job at a price point that's comparable to having the kid next door do it.
Q: Sounds like a glut of robotic vacuum cleaners. Are there other chores?
A: The mission of our consumer group is to make housework something that is done by choice. Our mission is to look at the tasks today and see what is robotizable and then work on developing the performance required to do it -- whether it's washing your car, mowing the lawn or cleaning the bathroom. It's a huge and exciting engineering process, making the house take care of itself.
Q: I imagine my bathroom will be more complicated.
A: It's a different process because there's water. I would say cleaning a toilet is different than tile. To do both is a complex challenge. We have research studying geckos and wall climbing. The big question is: Do we have to clean floor and walls, and will people pay for both? That's a matter for focus groups. Right now, it's difficult to say how it'll be.
Source: Larry Dignan , CNET News.com, October 8, 2002
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