iRobot employees are highly encouraged to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) related events in the community. Today I spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon in Franklin Park representing the company at the ParkSCIENCE Children’s Festival. The free event, timed to coincide with the winter school break, was very well attended and participants were exposed to all manner of science related exhibits and activities. It was a great opportunity to inspire a future generation of roboticists while supporting our community. By the end of the day I had honed my PackBot driving skills, entertained about a hundred kids, met the new mayor of Boston, and collaborated with the CEO of the New England Zoo on a novel robot idea.

When I returned to the office, the day only got better. I learned that Google had just announced a new project called Tango, a uniquely enabled phone capable of generating 3D maps of its environment. Two weeks ago, during an offsite technology summit, I had predicted that EXACTLY such a capability would soon emerge on a cell phone platform. There was some doubt in the room as to how long it would take and how practical it would be. Watching the Google video of the new device in action provided proof positive validation and will influence our future technology development plans.