If you’re not in the military, you’ll probably think of the Roomba when the name iRobot comes to mind, but the company has actually had a series of evolutionary steps in relation to robotic design over the last 10-15 years, as shown in these photos I’ve included.
The Roomba is a robotic machine made to clean the floor of a home, but other military robotic designs by iRobot are made to clean the roads of far more dangerous things than dirt.
While Asians like to develop robots that have a similarity to humans (sometimes in a very creepy manner), iRobot CEO Colin Angle says in reality there are too many restraints when attempting to make a practical robot in the image of a human.
Even so, iRobot has dabbled in the area, as it’s obviously a great attention-getter and marketing tool that draws a lot of media attention.
Other robot shapes made by iRobot have been in the form of crabs and insects.
iRobot Evolution
Documenting iRobot's Design Transformation
Trend Themes
1. Evolution of Robotic Design - Exploring the transformative journey of iRobot's robotic designs over the past decade, from Roombas to military robots designed to clean roads.
2. Practicality Over Humanoid Robots - Highlighting iRobot CEO Colin Angle's perspective on the limitations of creating humanoid robots and the focus on practicality in design.
3. Non-traditional Robot Shapes - Showcasing iRobot's experimentation with unconventional shapes such as crabs and insects for their robotic creations.
Industry Implications
1. Consumer Robotics - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in the consumer robotics industry through the continuous evolution of designs like the Roomba.
2. Military Robotics - Exploring disruptive innovation opportunities in the military robotics sector, particularly in the development of robots designed for hazardous road cleaning.
3. Marketing and Media - Identifying potential disruptive innovation in marketing and media by leveraging attention-grabbing robotic designs as effective promotional tools.