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.

iRobot Selects Create Challenge Contest Winner

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 30, 2007 - iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) today announced a winner in the iRobot Create Challenge contest. Built using the iRobot® Create® Programmable Robot, the winning entry, titled "Personal Home Robot," was designed to make life around the house more convenient and entertaining. It can water plants, control lights and appliances, play music and remind owners to take medication. The robot's creator, Danh Trinh, 35, of Towson, Md., won $5,000.

"This is an excellent example of the enthusiasm people bring to the idea of building robots," said Helen Greiner, co-founder and chairman, iRobot Corp. "Contestants put in amazing efforts creating exciting and imaginative robots for the challenge. We saw everything from robots that serve food and drinks to robots that paint pictures and can be remotely controlled from distant locations."

The iRobot Create Challenge was sponsored by Tom's Hardware Guide (www.tomshardware.com) and hosted by Instructables (www.instructables.com). Entries were judged on aesthetics, intelligence, utility, entertainment value, completeness and originality. A photo and description of the winning robot is posted at http://www.instructables.com/id/iRobot-Create-Personal-Home-Robot/. For more information about the contest, or to see the other entries, please visit http://www.tomshardware.com/irobot.

iRobot Create is an affordable, programmable robot designed for aspiring roboticists, advanced high school and college students and serious robot developers. Create comes preassembled, so developers can design new robots without having to build a mobile robot from scratch. With Create, developers can begin designing new robot applications out of the box. The platform provides access to robot sensors and actuators via an open interface. Create also features standard connections for electronics and threaded mounting holes that allow users to secure their inventions to the robot, streamlining the integration of third-party electronics such as sensors, cameras, arms and wireless connections.