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iRobot

irobot

iRobot Patent Filing Hints at Lawn Mowing Robot Update

The folks behind the Roomba robot vacuum appear to have another robotic helper up their sleeves. In this case, it's of the lawn mowing variety, but the final design is anything but final if the wide variety of shapes, configurations and features are any indication. A lawn-mowing Roomba-like robot... Lawmba? Loomba? Mowba. More »

clips

iPhone App Runs iRobot's Military Packbot

While many of us may ooh and ahh at the new iPhone apps reaching the consumer level, a pair from the University of South Florida has coded a native iPhone application that can operate iRobot's Packbot with full streaming POV video. Syncing with the Packbot over Wi-Fi, the iPhone's accelerometers allow panning and zooming while the touchscreen controls the Packbot's movement. But don't take our word for it. Check out the clip:

More »

robots

Roomba Maker to Develop DARPA's ChemBot Morphing Robots

Last year DARPA began the search for a company that could develop robots capable of squeezing through small openings and returning to their original size, shape, and functionality on the other side. Like most of DARPA's projects, the idea was way-out there. However, it appears that iRobot (the guys behind practical home robots like the Roomba vacuum and the Looj Gutter cleaner) have answered the call. More »

robots

"Crowd Control" iRobot Fires Up to a Million Rounds a Minute

You remember that gun that electronically fires up to a million rounds a minute (theoretically) by Metal Storm? They're strapping them to iRobot's X700 to create a serious killing machine with the flexibility of firing anything from explosive rounds to "less-lethal" ones, making it suitable for urban assaults, "border patrol," "crowd control" or my personal favorite, defense against a zombie apocalypse. [Danger Room]

robots

iRobot, Corporate Sabotage, Stolen Plans and Destroyed Evidence

Noah Shachtman over at Wired has a very interesting look at iRobot's six year battle with Robotic FX, a company started by a former employee who allegedly (and probably) stole schematics and plans in order to build a competitor. There's too much detail to work into a short summary, but Jameel Ahed, the former employee, was caught by a private investigator deleting documents and shredding CDs containing data that belonged to iRobot. More »

war robots

Wiimote, iPhone are New Tools of War

David Bruemmer and Douglas Few, engineers at the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Lab in Idaho Falls, have put together an unlikely use for the Wiimote—they've hacked the remote so it can control a bomb-disposing, landmine-detecting, machine gun-carrying robot. More »

robots

iRobot CEO Talks Past, Present and Future of Robotics

Very few people know more about the practical robotics industry more than iRobot CEO Colin Angle. We had a nice chat with him (he did all the talking) earlier today about the state of the robotics industry, why iRobot is essentially the only company doing what they're doing in the field, what kind of robots are coming in the future and why robots are necessary for the human race to survive. More »

robots

Robot Yoga is Geeky Zen

As the winner of the U.S. Army's $286 million "unmanned surge" competition, the PacBot 510 with FasTac Kit designed by iRobot will soon be in charge of protecting the lives of our soldiers on the battlefield. A noble occupation for sure, but it may have missed its calling as a master yoga instructor. Check out some of the poses iRobot engineer John Souliere managed to get this thing into during a demo with Wired. [iRobot and Wired]

robots

Personal Home Robot Lands Nerd $5,000 in iRobot Contest

It may look like a [Star Wars reference omitted] with a very erect [Star Wars reference omitted], but the Personal Home Robot is actually designed for use in this galaxy. Danh Trinh of Towson, Md. took home a $5,000 contest prize from iRobot for building the cute but boringly named PHR on the iRobot Create platform. Made up of parts from all over, it appears to contain a Compaq iPaq, a wireless access point from Buffalo and a Logitech QuickCam. It can water plants, control lights and appliances, play music and remind owners to take their medication. It does not [Star Wars reference omitted], but neither do you. [Instructables]
iRobot Create Challenge press release after the jump. More »

robots

New iRobot Warrior X700 Carries Big Payloads and Big Guns

When we last checked in with iRobot's Warrior, it was armless, pokey, weak and not killtastic. Their latest model, the Warrior X700, is the opposite of all of that, with plans for the urban warfare front: It sports a robo-arm that lifts 150 pounds, will tread a four-minute mile, lugs up to 500 pounds and can terminate with extreme prejudice semi-autonomously. It can deploy machine guns or 40mm explosive rounds, with one variant sporting an electronic firing system utilizing a four-pack of small barrels that fire 16 rounds a second with an 800-meter range. At this rate, a real-life robot-controlled Metal Slug is totally on its way by 2028. [Army Times via Danger Room]

robots

iRobot Looj Gutter Cleaner Video Is Bob Vila Porn

Check out the superslo-mo guttercam as the lil green iRobot Looj clears away real-life sludge and debris. The best part of the video may be the Looj holster, allegedly designed so you can safely ascend and descend ladders, but really there to make you look like some kind of space cowboy. [iRobot]

robots

iRobot Looj Gutter Cleaner and ConnectR Webcam Robots Announced

As we saw in our coverage of the iRobot Digital Life Event, the iRobot Looj and iRobot ConnectR were just announced. The Looj, that weird gutter cleaner we saw before, will cost $99. The iRobot ConnectR, is a "virtual visiting robot," which means it has a webcam and a mic for mobile teleconferencing; it will cost $500. The latter can be driven around like an R2-D2 so you can get in touch with other people around the office without actually getting up to. [iRobot]

irobot

iRobot Digital Life Event: iRobot Looj and iRobot ConnectR Official

2:10 Colin Angle of iRobot is about to launch something. We'll let you know what as soon as he stops rambling. Our guess would be the iRobot Looj. More »

robots

Details on the iRobot Looj Gutter Cleaner Via the FCC

Engadget just noted that the iRobot Looj just hit the FCC. There are some terrible photos but I noticed there's a full manual detailing its every function:
•The Looj does one gutter at a time.
•There's a belt clip for easier transportation of the Looj to rooftops.
•There's a detachable handle used to drop it into position that also becomes a remote control. •The nose of the device has a ejector (the fin, which kicks stuff out of the gutter) and disruptor, which breaks up the debris in the first place. After that, a 500RPM rotating sweeper scrubs the gutter.
•"Clear all debris in front of ladder before starting auger to avoid being sprayed in the face."
Dudes, this is too complicated. How about I just climb on top of my roof with a hand-shovel and hose and clean this mess up myself?
[Engadget]


robots

First iRobot Roomba 560 Video


One of the quirkier features of iRobot's new 500 series Roomba vacuum bots is the voice recorded tutorial that is built into the device. Here's the robot-guided tour, complete with spinning sidebrush and a blinking blue dirt detector light.

robots

Mod-Friendly 5th Gen iRobot Roomba - First Vacuum


Roomba is among the most successful consumer robots ever made, having sold well over 2 million units. And iRobot's newly released 500 series is the first major revamp of the floorvac line since 2004. Nearly everything about the bot has been changed or improved; it's stronger, quieter, smarter and will last five times longer than its predecessor. A full report on the Roomba 560's anti-tangling technology, voice module, and RF "Virtual Wall Lighthouses" is just after the jump.
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robots

The Crash of the Flying PackBot


It's Friday, so why shouldn't you enjoy 70 seconds of flying, crashing robotic calamity? More »

name that irobot

What Will iRobot's Next Creations Be?

iRobot, of Roomba fame has come out of the woodwork and announced that they will be unveiling two new consumer robots this holiday season that will not be floor cleaning robots. Helen Greiner, co-founder of iRobot said "We are going to launch them from our Web space, and they are not floor-cleaning robots. They are different types of robots with mechanical features." So, what do you folks think? They are going to be consumer robots that don't clean. More »