Sen. John Kerry Visits iRobot

[globalvillage]

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ:IRBT):
WHAT: Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., will meet the robots that are
protecting U.S. troops when he visits iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) on
Monday, March 27. While at iRobot, Kerry will also address the
employees about what it means to have industry leader iRobot
base its headquarters in Burlington, Mass., and discuss the
impact of the emerging robot market on the local economy.

Some of the robots Kerry will see include the iRobot
PackBot(R) Tactical Mobile Robots that have been credited with
saving scores of soldiers lives, the latest iRobot Scooba(TM)
Floor Washing Robot and REDOWL, a sniper detection payload
prototype developed in conjunction with The Photonics Center
at Boston University.

iRobot is a provider of behavior based robots. Currently, more
than 300 iRobot PackBot robots are helping protect U.S. troops
in Iraq and Afghanistan and more than 1.5 million iRobot
Roomba(R) Vacuuming Robots have been sold since its
introduction in 2002.

WHEN: Monday, March 27, 2006 -- 2:15 p.m. ET

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060324005500&newsLang=en


Robots! Cool.

I want the combo sniper detector/floor washer.
That might come in handy here in Pittsburgh.
:-)

[wisteria]

1. Do you think iRobot Corp. would be a good investment?

They seem to have done well with the robot vacumn cleaner. I wonder how perfected they are. My idea of a cleaning robot is one like Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons. Obviously, I do not have a scientific mind.

[globalvillage]

2. I have lost money on every stock I've ever owned.

So if I say buy...SELL!!!

Hehe. Not really funny.
:-(


I have wanted a roomba for some time, though.
:-)

[karynnj]

3. I thought about it - for my permanently dirty home

but it would totally freak out our maltese.

Can the Massachusetts deigned and progammed robots be reprogrammed to descend on DC? This should be a fun visit for Kerry - the robots are likely smarter than the other guy in the first debate and at least 2 guys on the SFRC.

[wisteria]

8. How cute. I love those dogs. n/t

[karynnj]

10. He is cute,

He would likely chase it around the house - he begs to go out every time he sees a squirrel, chipmunk, dog, person or deer in the yard. (He has a very poor idea of who big he is.)

Here's his picture, dressed by my college freshman as Anna Karenina for a card she was making.

[rox63]

9. Yeah, my cats would freak out too

They're afraid of the regular vacuum cleaner. They'd totally flip out if they saw a vacuum steering itself around the house.

[TayTay]

4. That is so cool!

That place is one mile from where I work. And I own a Roomba! (ahm, my husband got it for me for Christmas. It was a very ingenious move on his part. First of all, you never give a woman cleaning implements as gifts on important holidays because, generally speaking, they are impersonal gifts and a no-so-subtle reminder that said woman is a slob and should vacuum more. However, my husband took careful note of my insatiable geek side and hid his criticism inside a way cool robot that I am powerless to resist. That man is diabolical. Other women would squeal over getting jewelry or clothes or something. I freaked out over getting a robot to play with, that, oh yeah, vacuums. Diabolically clever, that man of mine.)

OMG! Sen. Kerry is going to be in Massachusetts! (snark, snark, snark and ..... I'm over it. This is part of my ongoing self-pity jag that 'he never comes here anymore, he doesn't love us anymore' thing that pops up from time to time. Spoiled friggin Masshole junk. I have my jerk moments too!) OMG! Sen. Kerry is going to be one mile from where I work and there will be way cool ROBOTS there! OMFG! I could just die! (Hmmm, who do I know that works there? Hmmmmm, need pics.) Oh, I wanna go.

[globalvillage]

5. How well does it work?

I really, realy want one.

[TayTay]

7. It works great!

It's got a really decent amount of power and suction and got that winter, slushy, sand-like stuff out of the rug in the front of my house.

And you can take it apart to see how it works!

When I first got it I turned the thing on, turned on the sensor bar that prevents it from going into another room and just watched it work. (It has sensors and notices stairs and everything. My husband likes to pretend that he doesn't go to High Level 5 of sheer geekiness, but he really does. He just hides it better than I do. We both just sort of watched the little round robot go all around avoiding obstacles and managing to get out of tight spots and wondered about it's programming and stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed it.)

Oh yeah, it vacuums real good too!

[Fredda Weinberg]

15. I love my Roomba

It runs every day while I'm at work.

[ProSense]

6. That is cool.

Hope someone gets a few good picures of JK.

I want one of those vacuums and If they can create a robot to fold clothes, I in.

[karynnj]

11. I need one of those too

and could it clean bathrooms.

[emulatorloo]

12. just what I was thinking too -- and could it load the dishwasher please?

folding laundry, cleaning bathrooms, and loading the dishwasher are the absolute worst -- I would be happy to vacumn for the robot if it would take over those things.

[karynnj]

13. Loading the dishwaher would be great and cleaning the counters

[Dr Ron]

14. There's got to be an Al Gore joke here

but that would just be too easy.

[ProSense]

16. Toy-Like Device Helps Save U.S. Soldiers' Lives

Mar 27, 2006 4:22 pm US/Eastern
Toy-Like Device Helps Save U.S. Soldiers' Lives

(CBS4) BURLINGTON One the most dangerous threats to soldiers in the battle for Iraq is roadside bombs, but a local company is hoping to change all that.

Burlington’s i-Robot is perhaps best known for its Roomba vacuuming robot, but they are now helping to save soldiers.

IED's -- improvised explosive devices -- are hidden in the ground, under rocks and sometimes under animal carcasses -- killing hundreds of troops since the start of the war.

But a remote controlled robot could save lives. The Packbot is designed to find and dispose of IED's. It's made by i-Robot in Burlington -- the creators of the robot vacuum, Roomba. Three-hundred Packbots are on the front line in Iraq.

A demonstration was held on Monday for Senator John Kerry at the company's headquarters.

more...

http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_086162421.html

[globalvillage]

17. Video, thanks!

Looks like a fun place to work. Saving lives, of course, is the focus here, but robots are really, really cool.
Wonder how much time JK had to play with the robots? They would have had to drag me out.

[ProSense]

18. Thanks for point that out

It didn't launch when I read the article.

[TayTay]

19. Thanks!

That is very cool, even is Sen. Kerry is only in that video for a nano-second.

I could never have left. Robots are soooooooo cool! (I notice the good Senator made it back to DC for the vote today. Wow. Must have taken off from Hanscom. I wonder if it was 'his' plane and if he piloted?)