BURLINGTON, Mass. – Nov. 8, 2005 – iRobot Corp. today announced that the iRobot Scooba® Floor Washing Robot has been honored with a Popular Science “Best of What’s New” Award in the Home Technology category. Scooba is the first floor washing robot designed for home use.
Each year, the editors of Popular Science select the top 100 technology innovations of the year for the “Best of What’s New” awards. These products represent a significant leap in their categories.
“‘Best of What's New’ is the ultimate Popular Science accolade, representing a year's worth of work evaluating thousands of products,” says Mark Jannot, editor of Popular Science. “These awards honor innovations that not only influence the way we live today, but that change the way we think about the future.”
Scooba’s innovative cleaning process allows the robot to simultaneously prep, wash, scrub and dry hard floors, all at the touch of a button. Unlike a conventional mop that spreads dirty water on the floor, Scooba applies only fresh water and cleaning solution to the floor from a clean tank. Scooba can clean wet spills in addition to dirt and grime, and it is safe for use on all sealed, hard floor surfaces, including wood and tile. Scooba is expected to be available at retail outlets in the first quarter of 2006.
“Scooba replaces the tedious and time-consuming task of mopping,” said Greg White, executive vice president and general manager, iRobot Consumer Robots. “We are glad the editors of Popular Science recognized Scooba as an exciting new home technology.”
About Best of What's New
The editors of Popular Science review thousands of products annually in search of the top innovations of the year. The winners – the “Best of What's New” – are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of “Best of What's New” in 1987. Best of What’s New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies in 12 categories: Auto Tech, Aviation & Space, Cars, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, General Innovation, Home Entertainment, Home Tech, Personal Health, Photography and Recreation.
About iRobot Corp.
iRobot is a provider of robots that perform dull, dirty or dangerous missions in a better way. The company’s proprietary technology, iRobot AWARE Robot Intelligence Systems, incorporates advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence. This proprietary system enables iRobot to build behavior-based robots, including its family of consumer and military robots. For additional information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.
| Contact: | |
| Parna Sarkar iRobot Corp. psarkar@irobot.com (781) 418-3135 |
Elena Frigeri A&R Partners for iRobot Corp. efrigeri@arpartners.com (212) 905-6153 |