Roomba,
the first robot vacuum cleaner for home use, has hit the market,
and Maytag Corp.’s Hoover unit, Electrolux AB, and the U.K.’s
Dyson are working on rival machines, Time magazine reported.
Invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s
Artificial Intelligence Lab, Roomba is built by Somerville,
Massachusetts-based iRobot. The round, 4-inch-tall machine weighs
7.5 pounds and is 14 inches in diameter. Roomba uses electronic
eyes, rechargeable batteries and specialized software to vacuum a
room and shut itself off, Time said in its Sept. 23 issue.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
Closely held iRobot is run by Colin Angle, director of the
MIT lab, and two of his former graduate students, Helen Greiner
and Rodney Brooks. The machine’s programming was originally
designed for a military robot crafted to clear minefields, the
magazine said.
Roomba, which carries a price tag of $200, won’t be in stock
on the company’s Web site until Oct. 1.
Bloomberg
