iRobot

YBuy’s Subscription Service Lets You Try Gadgets for 30 Days

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 18 at 11:10 am PT

Here’s a twist on the popular subscription services: A site that lets you try out consumer electronics and home and kitchen gadgets before buying them.

Reporter’s Notebook: It’s Robots Galore at Google I/O

Ina Fried in Mobile on May 11, 2011 at 2:38 pm PT

Although Google’s business is making software and online services, one could hardly tell that from the halls of its Google I/O conference this week, which was overrun with robots of all shapes and sizes.

The Little Robot Made to Clean the Icky Spots

Katherine Boehret in The Digital Solution on April 5, 2011 at 1:24 pm PT

The Scooba 230, the latest floor-scrubbing gadget from iRobot, is designed to tackle small, icky spaces, like behind the toilet.

Voices

2011: Baby Steps to "The Jetsons"

Steve Cousins, President and CEO, Willow Garage in News on February 24, 2011 at 1:55 pm PT

When people find out that I work in the personal robotics industry, they invariably ask me how quickly their Rosie the Robot will arrive. Everyone wants his/her own personal assistant. We’ve already seen robots tackling laundry, sorting socks, and even fetching a beer; so it’s fair to say that a good deal of progress has been made toward a future where personal robots are routinely assisting humans.

Viral Online Videos, the Funny Edition: Doombas and Anchors Away!

Kara Swisher in News on February 12, 2009 at 1:01 am PT

Here are two very funny online videos, making the rounds of late. The first is from “The Daily Show” earlier this week, in which Samantha Bee perfectly mocks products from iRobot–best known for the automatic vacuum called the Roomba–as killerbots. In the second, local Chicago anchors from WGN News, Robert Jordan and Jackie Bange, do a very impressive Las Vegas-style routine during the commercial break. It is hard to look away.

ByeRobot (Domo Arigato Mrs. Roboto)

John Paczkowski in News on October 23, 2008 at 10:45 am PT

Something over at iRobot doesn’t compute. The robot maker just lost its second co-founder in as many months. On Wednesday, Helen Greiner stepped down from her post as chairman of iRobot, leaving only CEO Colin Angle as the remaining co-founder of the company. Coming as it does just a month after the resignation of Rodney Brooks, iRobot’s co-founder and CTO, Greiner’s departure is a bit of a surprise.

Jurassic Perk: A Dino at Home

Katherine Boehret in The Mossberg Solution on February 6, 2008 at 12:01 am PT

UGOBE’s Pleo, a $350 baby dinosaur, is a fun and interesting robot/life form. But while the Pleo’s reactions and movements are endearing, many of them run together after a while with only subtle differences.