IROBOT CREATE

iRobot unveils iRobot Create. From iRobot Create website:

What is iRobot Create?
iRobot Create is an affordable programmable robot, pre-assembled to facilitate the development of new robots.

Who uses iRobot Create?
iRobot Create is used by advanced high school and college students, and serious robot developers. Computer programming experience is required.

What can I do with iRobot Create?
Robot developers can program behaviors, sounds, and movements, and even build on more electronics to create the robot of their dreams.

More on iRobot Create release on news.com

More on iRobot Create story on engadget.com

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"A ROBOT IN EVERY HOME by Bill Gates"

With the release of Microsoft Robotic Studio 1.0, Scientific American features an article written by Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft. The article explains why is necessary the unification of standards in robotics and how these needs to be applied with the help of PCs.

Imagine being present at the birth of a new industry. It is an industry based on groundbreaking new technologies, wherein a handful of well-established corporations sell highly specialized devices for business use and a fast-growing number of start-up companies produce innovative toys, gadgets for hobbyists and other interesting niche products. But it is also a highly fragmented industry with few common standards or platforms. Projects are complex, progress is slow, and practical applications are relatively rare. In fact, for all the excitement and promise, no one can say with any certainty when--or even if--this industry will achieve critical mass. If it does, though, it may well change the world.