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September 17th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Roomba, the world’s first multi-million unit-selling home-helper robot, turns 10 today. iRobot has cooked up a self-congratulatory infographic filled with a collection of interesting and, occasionally bizarre facts to mark the occasion.
A decade ago, I tested and wrote about the first Roomba robotic home vacuum. Back then, I described it as looking like “an oversized CD-player” (remember those?). What set Roomba apart from previous consumer robots, like the ill-fated Sony AIBO robotic dog, was Roomba’s price ($199) and utility (it really could clean your floors). It wasn’t cute like the $2,000 AIBO and had the personality of a deck of cards. To use it, you hit the clean the button and then Roomba went off on its own, weaving a bizarre, crop-circle-like pattern as it very slowly, but surely, cleaned your rug. iRobot CEO Colin Angle (who built the company along with a collection of other MIT alum) told me in 2002, however, “We want this to be first mobile robot that gets into people’s homes.”
Six million homes around the world later, it looks like Angle got his wish.
The Roomba and iRobot, by the way, has not slowed down. There’s now an entire line of Roomba Robot vacs, ranging in price from the original $199 all the way up to almost $700. iRobot followed the Roomba with a robot mop (Scooba), robot gutter cleaners (the Looj) and telepresence health-care robots. The company also has a healthy military business. Its Packbot line is regularly deployed in the field of battle. The company has even dabbled in apps.
In 2002, Angle dreamed of “changing the world with Roomba. “Inspiring robots that don’t make it into everyday life are neat, but are you changing the world?” he asked me. 10 years later, Roomba hasn’t changed the world, but apparently it has cleaned a whole lot of floors.
Check out the infographic for more fun Roomba facts. Be sure to share your memories of the Roomba in the comments area below.
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