A great article about iRobot Corporation – and a glimpse into the past and future in robotics — in today’s New York Times:
Ever since Rosey the Robot took care of “The Jetsons” in the early 1960s, the promise of robots making everyday life easier has been a bit of a tease.
Rosey, a metallic maid with a frilly apron, “kind of set expectations that robots were the future,” said Colin M. Angle, the chief executive of the iRobot Corporation. “Then, 50 years passed.”
Now Mr. Angle’s company is trying to do Rosey one better — with Ava, a 5-foot-4 assistant with an iPad or an Android tablet for a brain and Xbox motion sensors to help her get around. But no apron, so far.
![DARPA's CLIQR Quest Challenge [image courtesy DARPA].](http://www.cccblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/cliqr.png "DARPA's CLIQR Quest Challenge [image courtesy DARPA].")
