Roomba Creator to Discuss Future of Consumer Robots at 2005 International CES

Jan. 6, 2005 Today at 2005 International CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, MIT-trained robotics expert and iRobot Chief Executive Officer Colin Angle will discuss the future of consumer robots in an opening-day panel presentation entitled, "Getting up to Speed with Elusive Technologies." The one-hour discussion begins at 10:30 a.m. in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N253.

iRobot is credited with igniting a growing consumer robotics industry with the first affordable home robot that really works, the Roomba Robotic Floorvac. Until Roomba, robots were used largely for research and industrial applications. Last fall, consumer robotics reached a key inflection point in popularity, when the Roomba surpassed one million units in sales. Today Roomba has reached American pop culture icon status, appearing in major Hollywood movie productions, television commercials and talk shows and even inspiring a recent parody on "Saturday Night Live."

The latest Roomba Discovery recently won a "Best of" 2005 CES Innovations Award and, over the recent holiday buying season, was among the most popular gifts to give or receive.

"With more than 1 million Roombas sold, iRobot has demonstrated that people want to buy practical home robots that deliver true utility," Angle said. "We are at the dawn of a new age in consumer technology, and with so many innovations in development right now, consumers can't wait to see what the robotics industry will deliver next."

Among the most respected experts in robotics today, Angle helped put mobile robots on Mars before co-founding iRobot. At the panel event, Angle will outline the current state of consumer robotics and discuss where the technology is going.

iRobot's booth at the show is in the "TechZone" in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth No. 26918. To see iRobot's real robots, like Roomba and the PackBot tactical mobile robot which the U.S. government uses to save lives in Iraq and Afghanistan -- please visit www.irobot.com.

SOURCE iRobot