IRobot


iRobot Corporation is an American technology company that designs and builds consumer robots. It was founded in 1990 by three members of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, who designed robots for space exploration and military defense. The company's products include a range of autonomous home vacuum cleaners, floor moppers, and other autonomous cleaning devices. As of December 2025, it was acquired by Shenzhen Picea Robotics, their primary designer for their new line of robots up until they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A planned takeover deal by Amazon.com for US$1.7billion, announced in August 2022, collapsed in January 2024 amid antitrust scrutiny by the European Commission. The company filed for bankruptcy in December 2025 and intends to be acquired by Chinese manufacturer Picea.

History

iRobot was founded in 1990 by Rodney Brooks, Colin Angle, and Helen Greiner after working in MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab. iRobot was incorporated in California in August 1990 under the name IS Robotics, Inc. and reincorporated as IS Robotics Corporation in Massachusetts in June 1994.
In 1994, under the name IS Robotics, the company participated in the Micromachine Center operated by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
In 1998, the company received a DARPA research contract which led to the development of the PackBot.
In September 2002, iRobot unveiled its flagship home robot, the Roomba, which went on to sell a million units by 2004. In August 2005, the company won a patent infringement case against Canadian company Koolatron Corp., prohibiting them from selling an unauthorized clone of the Roomba called the Koolvac in the United States. iRobot began being traded on the NASDAQ in November 2005, under ticker symbol IRBT. On September 17, 2012, iRobot announced that it had acquired Evolution Robotics, manufacturer of automated floor mopper Mint.
In addition to deployment as bomb-disposal units with the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan, PackBots have been used to gather data in dangerous conditions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster site, and an iRobot Seaglider detected underwater pools of oil after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In February 2016, iRobot announced that it would sell its military robotics business to Arlington Capital Partners, in order to focus more on the consumer market.
In November 2021, iRobot announced that it had acquired Aeris Cleantec AG, a Swiss air purifier manufacturer. iRobot began selling Aeris-designed air purifiers through its own brand in 2022. By 2020, iRobot had sold more than 30 million home robots, and deployed more than 5,000 defense & security robots.

Attempted acquisition by Amazon (2022–2024)

On August 5, 2022, Amazon announced its intent to acquire iRobot in a deal worth US$1.7billion. The deal was subject to federal approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and other regulatory agencies. In September 2022, the FTC requested more data from both companies, amid concerns about Amazon's market power and the privacy implications of it gaining information about consumer floorplans.
In June 2023, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority cleared the acquisition, saying it wouldn't lead to competition concerns in the country. The European Commission launched a formal investigation into the proposed purchase in July 2023, citing that it would "allow Amazon to restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners and to strengthen its position as online marketplace provider." In July 2023, Amazon reduced the offer price to $1.42billion after iRobot raised $200million in new debt to fund its daily operations.
In January 2024, Amazon and iRobot announced they would end their plans to merge in the face of opposition from EU and U.S. antitrust regulators. This resulted in Amazon paying iRobot a $94million reverse breakup fee, iRobot laying off 31percent of its employees, and CEO Colin Angle departing. Gary Cohen was appointed as the company's new chief executive in May 2024.

Bankruptcy

On December 14, 2025, iRobot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after seeking court approval via a restructuring support agreement to be taken private and acquired by Shenzhen Picea Robotics, the manufacturer of Roombas, and Santrum Hong Kong, for an undisclosed amount.

Products

Current home robots

Roomba

Roomba is an automated vacuum cleaning robot first released in 2002. Roomba is powered by a rechargeable battery, and many models are available with a docking station to which the robot returns to recharge at the end of its cleaning cycle. They work in conjunction with accessories that use both IR and RF.
The company intentionally allows customers to hack the robot because they want people to experiment and improve the product. The API for the serial has been published and the serial port made easily accessible to make modifications easy to perform.
In 2015, iRobot released an updated Roomba called the Roomba 980, with a camera that uses VSLAM technology to map out a room and the objects in the room to clean the entire floor of a home. The Roomba 980 also includes carpet boost, increasing suction when the Roomba detects itself on carpets or rugs. This was also one of the first Roombas to include Wi-Fi connectivity with app control.
In 2018, iRobot released the Roomba i7 and i7+, marking new advancements in their smart mapping with their VSLAM-enabled Smart Imprint mapping. Their robots could now save multiple floor plans, and maps made by Roomba were stored in the cloud instead of being deleted every cleaning run. The release also introduced iRobot’s Automatic Dirt Disposal system, which emptied the robot’s dust bin every cleaning run. A year later, the Roomba S9+ was released, further improving those features with higher suction power and a D shape, a first for iRobot’s Roombas.
In May 2022, iRobot announced the new operating system and software platform for its Roomba vacuum cleaners, iRobot OS. The company stated the move from iRobot genius to iRobot OS will aid in giving their products a deeper understanding of the user's households and the users habits, in addition to voice commands and greater objected identification.
In October 2022, iRobot released the Roomba Combo, which includes mopping capabilities. The robot is able to differentiate between hardwood floor and carpet, and it lifts its mop to the top of the robot when transitioning to carpet.

Braava

Braava is iRobot's floor mopping robot, designed to work on hard-surface floors. Braava uses disposable or microfiber cleaning cloths for damp and/or dry cleaning. The 380t model comes with a Channel 4 NorthStar Navigation Cube, which is set on a high surface and directs the robot around the area it cleans.
The design was known as the Mint until 2013. It was developed by Evolution Robotics, which was acquired by iRobot in 2012.

Create

Create is a hobby robot, released in 2007. Create offers users the possibility of changing or adapting the robot's functions through experimentation with the basic elements of robotics as well as by adding sensors, grippers, wireless connections, computers, or other hardware.

Root

Root is an educational robot designed for use by children learning how to code. It is programmed through a tablet or smartphone. iRobot acquired Root Robotics in 2019.

In development

Terra

In 2019, iRobot received FCC approval to move forward with their plans to commercialize a robotic lawn mower capable of using wireless localization technology, which they announced would be branded as "Terra". Terra uses mapping to navigate and mow the lawn in a straight-line pattern. It uses smart beacon stakes to localize itself in the yard, and is taught a boundary by the user. Terra includes Wi-Fi capabilities and a docking station for recharging. Terra was available as a beta program in 2019 in Germany and the United States. The program was indefinitely postponed in March 2020.

Discontinued products

Scooba

Scooba was iRobot's floor-washing robot. The product became commercially available in limited quantities in late 2005 before a full product release in 2006. Early models required either a special non-bleach cleaning solution or white vinegar to wash hard floors. Newer units could use plain water. Several versions were marketed. iRobot discontinued the Scooba line of products in favor of the Braava line of floor moppers in 2016.

Dirt Dog

Dirt Dog was a variant of Roomba designed for workshop use that was released in 2006. The product picks up small objects such as nuts, bolts, dirt, and debris from a workshop or similar floor. The unit was able to be used on hard floors, shop carpets and industrial floor surfaces. The Dirt Dog was discontinued in late 2010.

My Real Baby

My Real Baby was a robotic toy marketed by iRobot from 2000 and produced in partnership with the toy manufacturer Hasbro. It is no longer in production. This product, which was meant to look like a human infant, employed animatronic facial expressions and was developed from an emotionally expressive and responsive robot developed by iRobot corporation called "IT."

ConnectR

ConnectR was a videoconferencing robot which was prototyped in 2010. It did not pass pilot tests and was not sold commercially.

Verro

Verro was a swimming-pool cleaning robot released in April 2007.

Looj

Looj was a gutter-cleaning robot released in September 2007. Looj is not an autonomous robot, but rather a remote-controlled robot patterned after a toy tank with an auger mounted on the front. The robot fits inside most gutters to clean out debris stuck inside them, such as leaves and pine needles. It has long treads on its side which allow it to move inside the gutter. The auger dislodges and removes almost all of the debris inside the gutter by flinging it sideways into the air. Looj also has a detachable handle/remote that is used to carry and operate the robot. Looj won the Best of CES Innovations Award: Home Appliances in 2008. It was discontinued in 2017.