As a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Helen Greiner spoke frequently to her mother about the possibilities of using robots for space exploration. Not a bad idea, Mom replied, according to Greiner in an interview with Good Housekeeping. “But what I really want,” her mother said, “is a robot that can clean hard-to-reach places.”
Greiner took her mother’s suggestion to heart and as co-founder and chairwoman of technology products company iRobot helped create the Roomba, a vacuuming robot that cleans those “hard-to-reach places.” Using sensors to propel itself around a room without human assistance, the Roomba vacuums up dirt in high traffic areas as well as under beds and furniture where regular vacuums can’t reach.
Just three years after its introduction, more than 1.5 million of the $300 Roomba Vacuuming Robots have been sold worldwide. Now, Greiner and company are exploring other consumer, business and even military uses of their technology including tactical mobile robots used for bomb disposal and hostage rescue.
Needless to say, Greiner’s mom is very proud.
When seeking innovation, start by solving everyday problems.
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