Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner maker iRobot (IRBT) sucked up more profit than expected in the third quarter, but its sales were a tad lighter than views. It also lowered its guidance for the holiday sales quarter, disappointing investors. IRobot stock was near 31, down 2%, in morning trading on the stock market today, and it’s down more than 10% this year. Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot said late Tuesday that it had earned 42 cents a share in the
The Roomba robot vacuum cleaner just got a whole lot smarter. Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot (IRBT) announced late Wednesday that its next-generation Roomba features intelligent visual navigation and Internet cloud-connected app control. The Roomba 980 creates a map of its surroundings as it cleans and keeps track of its location until it has cleaned an entire level of a home. It automatically returns to its home base to recharge and, after powering
Home robot maker iRobot (IRBT) revealed Wednesday that it is developing a robotic lawn mower, but cautioned that it’s not close to being released. IRobot CEO Colin Angle confirmed media reports about the lawn mowing robot on a conference call with analysts Wednesday. IRobot’s plans were first exposed in documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission. The Bedford, Mass.-based company received an FCC waiver to test radio-frequency beacons that would be used to help navigate the robot lawn mower. Scientists at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory have objected to iRobot’s proposal to use radio waves to guide lawn mowers. They say the devices could interfere with the sensitive radio telescopes they use to scan the heavens, Bloomberg reported. IRobot’s current plan is to use a series of radio transmitters mounted on 2-foot lawn spikes to define the boundary of an owner’s lawn, BetaBoston reported. “As far as the public disclosure…