How Roomba invented the home robot — and lost the future
For many, iRobot's Roomba robot vacuum was their first experience with a home robot. When I got my Roomba in 2005, I felt like I was a step closer to my dream of living in a Jetsons-style home where a robot did my chores for me. It was expensive, around $300 for a small black disc on wheels that sucked up dirt, but its promise to do one of my most-hated chores while I was at work was compelling. The reality back then was that I spent more time babysitting it than it did actually cleaning my floors, but it was an exciting glimpse into the future of today's excellent robot vacuums.
I wasn't alone in my excitement. Robot vacuums quickly became …