Army Confirms Interest in iRobot LADAR

Defense News reports that the Army is interested in the LADAR 3-D laser technology recently acquired by iRobot. The LADAR technology, which would be used on the company's military robots for vision, has the potential to greatly improve autonomy and provide a major competitive advantage.

The U.S. Army Materiel Command “plans to explore the potential applications of this technology to known Army requirements. If applications are identified, the technology will be proven by the Army Test and Evaluation Command,” said Army spokesman Sheldon Smith.

thx, byronangel
Tags: iRobot, LADAR, Army

Dirt Dog $111

Amazon has cut the price on the iRobot Dirt Dog to $111 Shipped.

More iRobot LADAR details

iRobot's new hometown paper, the Bedford Minuteman, profiles the company's new laser alliance with Advanced Scientific Concepts at this link.

New details:

Lasting only 20 nanoseconds, the lasers cannot be seen by standard cameras or by night vision, making them “very stealthy,” Stettner said. The LADAR takes only one shot, but when the light comes back to the camera, it is sampled 20 times to render a 3-D video image.
“These robots can use this kind of vision system to negotiate the world,” Stettner said.
The Flash LADAR system is capable of seeing two kilometers, with a resolution of about 3 centimeters throughout the whole 128x128 array. Preliminary plans are to equip PackBots and Humvees with the cameras, while Greiner mentioned potential commercial uses in agriculture.

Slashdot also noted the technology, and the message thread is definitely worth reading here. (Thx, jsrn, wealjays).
Part of one post:

This is a big step forward. I know this technology. Back in 2004, when we were putting our DARPA Grand Challenge vehicle together, I went down to Advanced Scientific Concepts in Santa Barbara to see the thing. Back then, they had a prototype that worked, but it was on an optical bench (one of those big plates with screw holes to which you attach optical components), nowhere near ready to go on a vehicle. It was just too early. ...
ASC kept working, and by 2006 they had working portable prototypes. By 2007, you could buy a LIDAR about the size of a large-format camera for about $100,000. Now they've downsized it further.
Unlike the laser scanners with spinning mirrors or sensors, which is what everyone else uses, this technology has no moving parts. The system has two main components - a pulse laser with diffusing optics, and a detection and timing IC with one LIDAR receiver per pixel. Neither of these is inherently expensive in quantity. It may take a while to get this down to webcam prices, but $1000 is a reasonable near-term target.
...
This is the sensor that will make automatic driving commercially feasible.

Tags: iRobot, robot, LADAR

Christian Science Monitor Profiles iRobot LADAR

Check out this extensive new article on iRobot's use of LADAR 3-D laser technology to radically improve robotic vision: Christian Science Monitor link.

Key quotes:

"Even though we have great capabilities for them to be mobile and ... to control their actions and motion, their perception is still something that's technically behind," says Edison Hudson, deputy director of research at iRobot. The Burlington, Mass., company is building the LADAR-enabled robots for the military and other interested organizations.
"We've seen robot demos for years in the military where you've got this big robot – not our robots – and it's going along doing a demo and there's this little bitty bush or little bitty clump of grass in its way and it stops and everybody's like, 'Why did the robot stop?' " says Helen Greiner, chairman and cofounder of iRobot. "It doesn't sense what we sense with our visual processing that this is an object we can easily just roll through."

Products are estimated to be 12-18 months away.
"As the technology evolves, it could encompass a range of applications, they say, such as pedestrian-avoidance systems for cars or 3-D mapping for Hollywood filmmakers, who could determine the geometry of a scene so they could later insert computer-generated effects."

Tags: iRobot, robot, LADAR

BREAKING: iRobot Buys Laser Technology to Push Autonomous Military Robots

UPDATED: iRobot has signed an exclusive deal with Advanced Scientific Concepts, including an ownership stake in ASC, for use of its advanced 3-D laser mapping LADAR technology.
Xconomy has the story with quotes from iRobot Chairwoman Helen Greiner, who says they hope to demo the technology for the military later this year.
Folks, iRobot is poised for a breakout 2008, and this is just one more very exciting development.

UPDATE: According to Mass High Tech, iRobot invested $2.5 million in Advanced Scientific Concepts.

Here is a video of Advanced Scientific Concepts' 3D technology in action from the ASC website.

Here is a 60-minute presentation on the technology: YouTube Video.

thx, ibnjoyn and byronangel and jsrn

Tags: iRobot, robot

iRobot Pre-Announces Earnings; Revenue At High End of Expectations Despite Economy

UPDATED: iRobot pre-announced earnings and revenue today, announcing that the company will have $98 million to $100 million in 4th Quarter revenue and $248 million to $250 million for the year, at the high end of its revised guidance. Earnings will be significantly better than expected due entirely to an $8 million one-time income tax adjustment (MORE below on the adjustment and what that means for 2008 profits!). Without the adjustment, earnings will be a bit worse than expected due to litigation costs and slimmer than expected gross margins. More importantly, the company talked optimistically about a more profitable 2008, although no details were released and are not anticipated until the fourth quarter earnings conference call in February. (That seems awfully late, so I wonder if their accountants have to rework all the books because of this income tax adjustment)...

At first blush, I'm very happy with these results. Surging revenue despite a downturn in retailing overall is a very good sign for the long-term; we'll have to see what caused the weakness in gross margins (perhaps the issue with breaking Roomba 500 side brushes?) and what they forecast for the all-important 2008 guidance. Note that 2007 earnings will now be in the range of $.35 due to the income tax adjustment, and Colin spoke of "improved" earnings in 2008, so I hope he was taking that into consideration. The bar just got raised. I'd like to see them post at least $10 million in expected earnings for 2008 when they issue guidance.

UPDATE: It looks like in order for them to book the income tax gain, they have to anticipate earnings of at least $8 million in 2008 (thanks, Acklyn), so we should expect $8 million as the MINIMUM iRobot will project for its 2008 full-year guidance.

Here is the press release:

iRobot Announces Preliminary Unaudited Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2007 Results

Revenue in line with expectations; Significant income tax benefits partially offset by costs associated with lawsuit settlement result in increased EPS compared to prior year

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) today announced that it anticipates revenue for the fourth quarter of 2007 in the range of $98 million to $100 million and revenue for the full year 2007 in the range of $248 million to $250 million.

“I am extremely pleased to report that we anticipate fourth quarter and full year revenue to be in line with our expectations following a successful holiday season for our new iRobot® Roomba® 500 Series robot, despite widely reported weakness in general retail. The company’s Government & Industrial Robots business also made a strong contribution to the quarter,” said Colin Angle, chief executive officer of iRobot. “There also were two one-time events in the fourth quarter that impact fourth quarter and full year profitability: an anticipated income tax valuation reversal of at least $8 million and estimated litigation and settlement costs of approximately $1.6 million associated with the resolution of a lawsuit against Robotics FX that we announced last month,” he added.
“On a GAAP basis, we are expecting pre-tax profit between $12.1 million and $12.6 million for the fourth quarter and a pre-tax profit for the full year between $500,000 and $1 million. These results reflect the litigation settlement costs and lower than expected gross margins. Excluding the full year litigation and settlement costs of approximately $2.3 million, 2007 pro forma pre-tax profit is expected to be approximately $3 million. GAAP earnings per share are expected to be between $0.79 and $0.81 in the fourth quarter and between $0.33 and $0.35 for the full year, including the anticipated income tax valuation reversal,” Angle said.
“Based upon the company's profits since December 31, 2004, and its expected annual profitability in 2008 and future years, at least $8 million of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance will be reversed effective December 29, 2007,” said Geoff Clear, chief financial officer of iRobot. “Reversal of the valuation allowance will be a discrete event and will result in a significant non-cash income tax benefit in the fourth quarter of 2007,” Clear added.
Angle continued, “Our results demonstrate the strength of our business, and we exited the year with excellent momentum and visibility. We are optimistic about strong revenue growth and improved profitability across the company in 2008. The details of our expectations will be provided during our fourth quarter earnings call in February,” he said.

Fourth Quarter Earnings Release and Conference Call

iRobot will announce its fourth quarter and full year 2007 financial results after close of market on Feb. 19, at which time additional details will be provided. Management will host a conference call, open to all interested investors, to discuss fourth quarter and full year 2007 financial results and expectations for 2008 financial performance on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Pertinent details include:

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008
Time: 8:30 a.m. EST
Call-In Number: 719-325-4855

Tags: iRobot, robot

(Way) Off Topic: Apple screws up

Occasionally I post a tidbit or two about my *other* favorite company, Apple, which stepped in a little bit of poo this week by offering little at its latest MacWorld but puffery and the $1,800 envelope-thin MacBook Air (pictured above) that is two pounds lighter than the $1,100 MacBook, but with lower performance specs (and no CD drive); and a still-lobotomized Apple TV that STILL doesn't record TV! Reminds me of the $1,800 Mac Cube announcement. I'm sure Apple will sell a few, but we've come to expect more from the world's most innovative company. Where is the 3G iPhone? Cut-and-paste on the iPhone? Where is the sub-$1,000 headless Mac that isn't mini-neutered?

On the other hand, I love the new virtual GPS on my iPhone, with the major upgrade to Google Maps. And anybody who doesn't own an iPhone yet, get with the program already!

Tags: Apple, iPhone, AppleTV

LawnBott Markets New Robotic Lawn Mower That Doesn't Need Perimeter Wire

iRobot won't be the first company to release a consumer robotic lawnmower without the need for a perimeter wire, because LawnBott has beaten them to the punch with the new LawnBott LB1200 consumer model, dubbed the "Spyder," which automatically senses grass via special humidity sensors, and will stop and turn around when it reaches anything other than live grass.

The thing looks like a green Batmobile, features lithium ion batteries, mean looking tires, whisper-quiet operation, and simple on/off controls. Finally, a robotic lawnmower meant to be used by lazy Americans!

Looks to me like LawnBott only missed one key ingredient: Americans are cheapskates! The LawnBott is listed at $1,299, about the price of a Robomower on sale. That's a price point that still seems destined for niche-ville, although one can imagine sale prices below the $1,000 barrier.

Robotic mower retailer bamabots has an excellent and thorough review here with more pictures.

Keep in mind that robotic lawn mowers are extremely environmentally friendly, as they use only a few dollars worth of electricity a year and replace inefficient and pollution-wracked regular mowers.

iRobot, which is believed to be developing its own robotic lawn mower, had better take note, however. It risks being left way behind the competition here in an important market for future growth. iRobot won't be releasing a new robot anytime soon, according to the company, so the earliest one could imagine an iRobot lawnmower debuting would be CES 2009. Fingers crossed. (thx, Potts!)

Tags: iRobot, robotic lawn mower, Robomower, LawnBott, lawnmower

iRobot SUGV accelerated by Army; 25 robots to be delivered for testing by April

iRobot has issued a press release officially announcing the acceleration of the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) program, which is critical to iRobot's future growth prospects. Some 25 SUGV units will be delivered by April for testing (I'd guess roughly $2.5-4 million worth?) with a "production decision" expected by September 2008. The initial SUGV units will be "transitioned" to the fully Future Combat Systems-network-capable SUGV at some point in the future. This would effectively move up the SUGV by several years from the Army's initial plans, which is the opposite of how things normally work in defense procurement, where delays are common. iRobot has previously noted that the Army has seen a potential for 80 SUGVs per combat brigade, or thousands of units in total. Also of note, the SUGV will NOT replace sales of the PackBot bomb-defusing robots, which are built primarily for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams. Instead, it will supplement EOD sales. There is an open question, however, of whether moving to the SUGV will supplant the $286 million contract iRobot recently won for infantry robots, which would be filled with the PackBot with FasTac kit. It's quite possible that the Army could allow much of that contract to go unfilled and replace it with a new SUGV contract with iRobot.

Note that iRobot is the exclusive maker of the SUGV at this stage, having been selected as the Future Combat Systems supplier and as part of the FCS team years ago.

Also of note, as we posted previously, Defense News posted details of the acceleration last week.

Here is the press release:

Press Release Source: iRobot Corp.

U.S Army Accelerates Testing of iRobot's Future Combat Systems Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle
Thursday January 17, 12:00 pm ET
Soldiers to Begin Robot Field Exercises in May 2008

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ:IRBT - News) today announced that the U.S. Army has accelerated its testing schedules for iRobot’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV) robot development program. The updated plan calls for iRobot to deliver a total of 25 FCS SUGV robots by April 2008. The Army Evaluation Task Force (AETF) will begin evaluation and testing of the robots in May 2008. This effort is intended to provide an early capability of SUGV to soldiers in the field. The SUGV Systems Development and Demonstration program will continue to mature the SUGV with its full network capability.

The initial soldier evaluations will determine the capabilities and limitations of the SUGV platform. These evaluations will support the Army’s production decision, which is expected in September 2008. FCS will procure a select number of these early SUGV units and then transition to the full network-capable SUGV as scheduled by the FCS program.

“We continue to receive a tremendous amount of positive feedback from soldiers in theater that iRobot PackBot is an essential tool for ensuring mission readiness and improving situational awareness to keep soldiers out of harm’s way,” said Vice Admiral Joseph Dyer (U.S. Navy, Ret.), president of iRobot’s Government & Industrial Robots division. “We see this acceleration as clear evidence of the U.S. Army’s recognition of the critical role robots play in arming soldiers with the best intelligence and combat options to provide clear advantage on the battlefield.”

FCS SUGV is a tactical reconnaissance robot designed to assist soldiers in obtaining intelligence in dangerous or otherwise inaccessible areas. Modeled after the combat-proven iRobot PackBot, the SUGV offers multiple video sensors for real-time day/night tactical situational awareness. At just 30 pounds, SUGV’s portability, modularity and agility make it an essential component of the individual soldier’s gear in the integrated FCS program.

iRobot is currently under contract agreement to develop the next-generation SUGV for the FCS program with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), which serves as the FCS Lead Systems Integrator with Boeing. This decision marks the first significant delivery of SUGVs to military customers.

To date, iRobot has delivered more than 1,200 PackBot robots to a broad range of military and civilian customers worldwide.

Tags: iRobot, SUGV, Future Combat Systems, PackBot, Army, robot

iRobot still owns the "really useful robot category"

Yahoo!'s tech reviewer said today that iRobot's Roomba, Scooba and Looj were the only products in the "really useful robot category" at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

iRobot tries to sell PackBots in India

Report from India: iRobot is trying to sell the PackBot 510 to the Indian armed forces. This would seem to make sense as India does have an issue with terrorism.
Tags: iRobot, PackBot

iRobot CES Roundup

iRobot got lots of great press this week at the Consumer Electronics Show for its Looj and ConnectR robots and just in general as tech reporters sought out iRobot as a pioneer of the coming robotic revolution.

The Looj Gutter cleaning robot came in second in Yahoo!'s Last Gadget Standing contest.

Popular Mechanics has an extensive state-of-the-home-robotics-industry overview that features extensive quotes from iRobot CEO Colin Angle, who disses robot toys as "minute of fun" as opposed to the Roomba, which Popular Mechanics dubs the "iPod of consumer robots." There also is talk of some competitors on display, which are promptly dissed by Popular Mechanics: Here's a brief clip:
Robot Maids: 'We Need Them'
It's easy to walk through the Robotics Tech Zone at CES without ever realizing it. There are card tables strewn with a handful of gaudy brochures, booths that are completely empty, a handful of extroverted toys, and what appear, at first, to be many Roombas. Some of these roving disks zoom across smaller pens, one across a stage—all idly bouncing off their surroundings and mercifully unaware of how boring they are. That's because they're basically clones of the iPod of consumer robots: the Roomba.

In fact, these competitors don't really function any differently either; Yujin Robot's Plus A robotic vacuum, for instance, boasts a list of features that are identical to the latest Roombas, including pre-set cleaning times and the ability to automatically recharge its lithium-ion battery. With 2.5 million Roombas sold, and no one currently coming close to out-innovating its flagship model, iRobot has effectively zero competition. But that's not necessarily a good thing.
"One company doesn't make an industry," the company's CEO, Angle, has said for years. ...As investors warm up to the concept of consumer robots, Angle claims it's becoming easier for newcomers to get access to capital. Still, he said, creating household bots is a nightmarish business proposition.
"Unlike with software, the margins are terrible," he said, citing 56 percent drop-off from software to robotics profits. "And you're building physical stuff. You have moving parts, gears operating in nasty environments. The robots are going to break."

TechCrunch has an interview with iRobot CEO Colin Angle, who describes the "cave-mouth epiphany" soldiers in Afghanistan had in 2002, when they realized that the company's PackBot was not a toy but a life-saving tool. (Thanks, William Cox).

iRobot CEO Colin Angle also talked to Gizmodo.

The New York Times profiled the coming battle between Wowwee and iRobot in "CES Robot Deathmatch: iRobot Vs. Wowwee." Quote: “We’re not just a toy company,” said Amy Weltman, vice president for marketing at WowWee. “We’re an adult toy company and our products are real robots. The plan for the company was always to be the best in entertainment and to slowly add functionality over time.”

CNET has an article on the plays by Ugobe, Hanson Robotics and Wowwee for the growing personal companion robot market.\

Hanulkid debuted a steam cleaning robotic vacuum, although the price is unknown.

Tags: iRobot, robot

More on SUGV acceleration

Kris Osborn at Defense News details the latest on the acceleration of iRobot's SUGV with the Army Future Combat Systems. Looks like there is a major power struggle over getting funding for fiscal 2009 and beyond. The Army apparently is shifting $78 million for procurement of SUGV's and micro air vehicles out of fiscal 2008 funds, but it's unclear how much is SUGV's and how much for MAV's.
Some 24 SUGVs are expected to be delivered by mid-year and the question mark is whether the SUGV gets funding for a major ramp-up after that or not.
Tags: iRobot, SUGV, Army

Another iRobot alum scores big, honestly

Turns out lots of alums of iRobot are doing just fine without having to rip off their former employer. Check out former Roomba team member Eliot Mack, whose company Cinital aims to make it big in the movie biz. The Boston Globe has the story.
Tags: Cinital, iRobot

Wowwee Unveils Rovio, Mr. Personality, Bladestar in Ambitious 2008 Release Schedule

While iRobot appears set for a year without significant new consumer robots with the exception of the ConnectR trial-ware, Wowwee is not resting on its laurels. The maker of the Robosapien, Robopanda and the Flytech Dragonfly has plans for 15 new releases this year, and a few appear to cross for the first time into iRobot's territory of USEFUL home robots. The new $299 Rovio could give ConnectR a run for its money at a cheaper price point. A $249 Mr. Personality robot is more in the line of a fun toy, but one that seems a lot more interactive than Robosapien. And the Flytech Bladestar features an auto-piloting helicopter that won't crash on its own due to its on-board sensors. COOL! And just $49. That's the kind of product that could sell millions and get tons of brand recognition.

Maybe I was wrong about Wowwee? And maybe iRobot should have bought them out, and Evolution Robotics as well. Perhaps it's not too late for a merger?

PC Mag's Lance Ulanoff has the story from CES.

Tags: iRobot, robot, iRobot, Wowwee, Rovio, Mr. Personality, Robosapien, ConnectR, Flytech, Bladestar

Jane's: Army wants to accelerate iRobot SUGV

Jane's Defence reports that the Army wants to acclerate the FCS SUGV (Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle) made by iRobot and the FCS UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) made by other companies, citing Boeing, the lead contractor on the Future Combat Systems program, as the source of the information. Key clip:

"Boeing FCS programme manager Dennis Muilenburg confirmed that the army leadership has directed the FCS programme office to accelerate the Class I unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV), both of which are being developed as part of the FCS family of unmanned systems.
"There's clearly high interest in fielding some of the robotic capabilities as soon as possible," he said.
Early versions of the SUGV are in theatre today in the form of the Packbot: a lightweight, portable ground robot made by iRobot. ...
Muilenburg said soldier feedback "has been very positive" on both systems. "They take on some of the dirty, dangerous missions - and also improve situational awareness for soldiers," he said.

I'll note that this isn't exactly "news" per se; we've been noting for months reports from various sources including directly from iRobot conference calls that the Army has been seeking to accelerate the SUGV, and that delivery of an early version will be ready to ship in volume by mid-2008 and drive revenue growth for the company.
Here is the link. (Thx, byronangel)
Tags: iRobot, robot, iRobot, Boeing, SUGV, Future Combat Systems, iRobot, robot

FasTac PackBot on Display, Does Yoga!

Noah Schachtman at Wired's Danger Room has the first pics I've seen of the new iRobot PackBot with FasTac kit on display doing some pretty acrobatic stunts that you won't see a Talon robot do any time soon.
(thx, micro)

Tags: iRobot, FasTac, PackBot

Colin Angle talks to Business Week; No new robots anytime soon, doesn't reaffirm guidance

iRobot CEO Colin Angle was interviewed by Business Week and made clear that the company won't be announcing new products anytime soon, so don't expect that iRobot lawnmower, laundry folder or shower cleaner in 2008. Angle also refused to comment on the company's 2007 guidance. (It's unclear when exactly he was interviewed as well; if it was sufficiently before Dec. 31, he may truly not have known where the numbers would end up, as last-minute reorders from retailers doing after-Christmas inventory could shift delivery of thousands of units. The interview is dated Dec. 28 at 12:01 a.m. EST, so it obviously occured prior to that.)

Here are the key quotes:

Re: The Third Quarter loss: "What happened there is very simple. We were bringing out a new product with an entirely new factory and a new manufacturing partner, Kin Yat in Southern China. The risks were higher than we'd modeled, and it set us back a number of weeks. That shifted a huge amount of revenue from the third quarter into the fourth. I'm not reaffirming guidance—that would be a material disclosure. But at that time we signaled that this was more than a shift. We left bottom-line guidance constant." [Ed comment: I think "more than a shift" is probably a misquote or misstatement. Shouldn't it be "more of a shift"? Also, Colin Angle did not say whether those production problems continued into the fourth quarter or not, but if he did indeed say "more than a shift," that is troubling because it would indicate that the production issues may have persisted because of adding a second manufacturer. This is a big point given that several of us iRobot watchers have noted sell-outs of some Roomba products including the workhorse Roomba 560 model but have no way of knowing if that was due to superior sales (IRBT back to $25 and beyond) or insufficient production (IRBT stalls again). One can imagine iRobot saying at the 4th Quarter presser, "Yeah, 4th Quarter was disappointing but we made a long-term decision to diversify our manufacturing base, blah blah blah, which would NOT be well received. There also was significantly less discounting of iRobot products in my checks this year versus last year, but again, we don't know if that was because of better sales or insufficient production or simply a decision on the part of management to protect the brand.)]
...
"While we haven't announced any new products and won't be announcing anything for quite some time, for everything from raking leaves to shoveling snow to mowing lawns or washing windows, robots would be doing us all a service if they could take on some of that burden. In the game of robots you're always fighting against the cost of hiring someone to do that task for you. There are upper bounds on what these devices can cost."

I read that last sentence as Colin Angle saying, "Sure, we could churn out an iRobot MowBa today, but it's got to be cheaper than $500 or nobody will buy it. There are already plenty of $1,000 Robomowers that nobody buys. We'll get there, but it's going to take a few years of R&D to build a cheaper grasstrap."

The Business Week link is here under the headline "iRobot: Ready to Clean Up." (thx, azimgamj).

Tags: iRobot, robot, robot, robotics, Robomower, Robomower