Mechanically Inclined
These entrepreneurial robophiles take their business where no man has gone before.
Vital Stats: co-founders
Colin Angle, 35, CEO; Helen Greiner, 35, president; Rod Brooks, 48,
CTO of iRobot
Company: Robotic technology
provider
2003 Sales Projections: More
than $50 million
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Learning Curve: Looking to
make robotics a commercial success, Angle joined with his
professor, Brooks, and fellow MIT graduate Greiner to start iRobot
in 1990.
"It's the
first tangible demonstration of a robot your average person can
look at."
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"We were naïve--starting a company with the technology
and no product is a bold plan," says Angle. After creating
successful products like an industrial cleaning robot for SC
Johnson Wax and My Real Baby for Hasbro, the partners began
designing their own.
Robo-Nouveau: Roomba is the
first automatic vacuum in the United States and iRobot's chance
at becoming a household name. Focus groups introduced to the small
disc-like object doubted its ability until they saw it in action.
So iRobot's founders sought channels such as
demonstration-friendly specialty stores Brookstone and The Sharper
Image. The midpriced vacuum, sold through the Home Shopping Network
and an infomercial, is reaching all levels of consumers.
Dream Machines: iRobot's
military systems division has created the PackBot, a robot used at
the World Trade Center site after 9/11. Roomba is the first
mass-market product out of iRobot's consumer division.
Space Ag(ing): Seeking a way
to meet the needs of an aging population, iRobot is currently
working on technology to facilitate virtual caretaking.