colinangle
Latest
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: iRobot CEO Colin Angle
Robotic housekeepers? iRobot's got 'em. The CEO of the company behind Roomba, Scooba and a slew of other task-based 'bots is joining us to discuss his vision of the future. January 8, 2014 6:30:00 PM EST
iRobot CEO Colin Angle on the shortcomings of humanoid robots (video)
Nearly everyone who's purchased one the 10 million-plus Roombas sold around the world has inevitably asked the same question: whatever happened to Rosie? For all its charms, iRobot's hockey puck-like floor cleaner will never compare to the Jetsons' sass-talking maid. We're living in an age of robots and we don't even know it. They're everywhere we look, but it's hard to recognize them after countless science fiction books and movies have hammered home the image of electronic mirrors of ourselves. In order to embrace a robotic future, however, many have scrapped the traditional notion of the android. "Building robot versions of people is very expensive," explains iRobot co-founder and CEO Colin Angle. "The thing that iRobot had to do to become a legitimate business [was] take a great step away from the traditional notion of what a robot should be. Why should it be to vacuum that I need to build an upright person and give them a vacuum? Why not build the vacuum that can guide itself around, that can go under couches? You can make it radically less expensive." Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
iRobot, InTouch Health unveil RP-VITA telepresence robot, let doctors phone in bedside manner
In case you missed the memo, there's quite a bit more to iRobot than adorable autonomous vacuums -- these days the firm works on military projects, consumer electronics and tablet-controlled telepresence robots. Earlier this year, iRobot even retooled itself to build an emerging technologies group, announcing a partnership with InTouch Health to put its AVA telepresence technology to better use. Today the two companies are announcing the fruits of their labor -- the Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant, or RP-VITA. The project aims to combine the best of iRobot's AVA telepresence units with InTouch health's own bots, creating an easy to use system that allows physicians to care for patients remotely without stumbling over complicated technology. The RP-VITA features state-of-the-art mapping and obstacle detection and avoidance technology, a simple iPad user interface for control and interaction and the ability to interface with diagnostic devices and access electronic medical records. The remote rig will eventually be able to navigate to specified target destinations autonomously, though this feature is still being reviewed by the FDA for clearance. iRobot and InTouch are optimistic about the unit, but claim that the RP-VITA is only the beginning. "While this represents our first foray into the healthcare market, the RP-VITA represents a robust platform," said Colin Angle, Chairman and CEO of iRobot, "we see many future opportunities in adjacent markets." The new telemedicine assistant is slated to make its first appearance at InTouch Health's 7th Annual Clinic Innovations Forum later this week. Check out the press release after the break for the full details.
The Engadget Show - 016: Mitsubishi's Frank DeMartin, iRobot, Aldebaran's NAO robot, Ubisoft Battle Tag, CES '11 preview, and more!
Get ready humans, because we have an all new Engadget Show that you do not want to miss! First up, Josh sits down with Mitsubishi product chief Frank DeMartin for a talk about the future of television technology. Next, Paul gets a behind the scenes look at iRobot's headquarters and test-drives military robots in an exclusive new Engadget Show segment. Then, Josh and Paul welcome Aldebaran Robotics to the stage for a never-before-seen demo of their humanoid robot NAO. Shots fly as Nilay joins the roundtable for a look at Ubisoft's new laser tag game, Battle Tag; and the guys recap the year in tech then preview what's on tap for next year at CES 2011. To round it all out, BIT SHIFTER rocks the house with some killer holiday chiptunes music with visuals by noteNdo. What are you waiting for? Watch it now! Hit up the video stream after the break or download the show in HD below! Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Special guests: Frank DeMartin, Colin Angle, Jean-Michel Perbet, Jérome Monceaux Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger Edited by: Danny Madden Music by: Bit Shifter Visuals by: notenDo iRobot segment music by: Bit Shifter Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec Engadget iPad Cases by: CafePress Taped live at The Times Center Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 016 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 016 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 016 (Small) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format.
iRobot says its Warrior bot is more human than ASIMO
Is a humanoid robot inherently more human than your average task-specific bot? iRobot apparently doesn't think so, and it's taken square aim at one of the most popular humanoid bots around to make its point. That argument arose in a recent interview with CNET News, where iRobot CEO Colin Angle responded to a question about humanoid robots by flatly asking, "why would you want to make a humanoid robot?," adding that they might be good for movies or those looking for a robot companion, "but other than that, most tasks are best tackled by designs that are not constrained by trying to look like a person." He then goes on to note that Honda's ASIMO "requires a team of 10 or 15 people to maintain it, it can walk about, maybe, half a meter per second and in some situations climb stairs over the course of a few minutes, and if it ever falls down, it's a paperweight." On the other hand, iRobot's Warrior bot, he says, "can take a 10-foot drop onto concrete, drive 20 miles an hour, drive up stairs without stopping at full speed, carry 200 pounds of payload and has, maybe, five motors," which means it can "go nearly everywhere a human can." So, Angle says, "you look at these things and say, which one of these is a robot human? The answer is, Warrior." Is it? Or, deep down, is there a little bit of ASIMO in all of us?
