iRobot
Cleaning Up Underwater
iRobot (Nasdaq: IRBT), named as one of Forbe's 25 Fastest Growing Technology Companies in America for 2009, is perhaps best known for its consumer robots that clean floors, the Roomba and Scooba. Born less than 20 years ago, the company has a significant presence in robots for military use. Marine Technology Reporter spoke with Joe Dyer, President of iRobot's Government and Industrial Division, to discuss his company's strategic acquisitions in the subsea market. -- by Greg Trauthwein
iRobot, best known for providing robotic floor cleaners for the consumer sector, is a diverse company which has made significant inroads in the use of robotics in virtually every sector of the U.S. military. While the company, according to the Forbes.com report, makes most of its $249m in annual revenue from its home care equipment, it has in the last year made significant progress in tapping the emerging subsea sector, through license and acquisition. Leading the way is Joe Dyer, a retired 34 year veteran of the Naval Air Systems Command, who self admittedly has always been "a bit geeky, a technology centric guy. When I was retiring (and evaluating my options), I wanted to be involved in an emerging technology company. I wanted to find the next 'Apple.'" He believes he found that in iRobot, a company started in 1990 when Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists Colin Angle and Helen Greiner teamed up with their professor Dr. Rodney Brooks with the vision of making practical robots a reality. Today, iRobot employs more than 400, headquartered in Bedford, Mass., with offices in Virginia, North Carolina, California, the U.K., France, India, China and Hong Kong. Dyer points to 2002/2003 as a turning point for the company, when its consumer floor cleaner Roomba became a commercial success and its PackBot tactical mobile robot which serves as a counter to IEDs, went into service in Afghanistan. The turning point for iRobot in the subsea industry came in 2008, when the company announced a pair of significant deals: · a sole licensing agreement with UW TechTransfer at the University of Washington to commercialize Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Seaglider tech30 MTR
iRobot, perhaps best known for providing robotic floor cleaners to the consumer market, also has significant business in providing robots for nearly every sector of the military. Vice Admiral Joe Dyer is pictured here with one of the company's land-based products. March 2009
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