myRoomBud gives the iRobot Roomba (multiple) personalities

    /24-7PressRelease/ - ACTON, MA, June 07, 2006 -- The entrepreneurial kids at myRoomBud (www.myroombud.com) have taken the next big step in personalizing your iRobot Roomba Vacuuming Robot. Since 2005, myRoomBud has been selling RoomBud costume covers to the owners of the 2 million Roomba robots and turning their vacuuming robots into a pets. Now, the RoomBuds have been given (multiple) personalities. RoomBud Personalities enhance the Roomba pet experience by "teaching" your Roomba to act like the pet or character trapped deep inside it. Roobit the Frog hops around, Roor the Tiger growls then pounces, and RoomBette La French Maid wiggles its behind at you before vacuuming your room. Roomba robots contain an interface that allows you to control or modify Roomba's behavior and remotely monitor its sensors. myRoomBud uses the iRobot Roomba Open Interface and RooTooth (a Bluetooth dongle specifically designed for Roomba by RoboDynamics - http://www.robodynamics.com) to have Roomba and a PC talk to one another. Software programs were written to make each RoomBud character do its thing. The 'myRoomBud Is Alive Dashboard' or MIAD (pronounced 'maid') is available for download on the myRoomBud web site. In the works are RoomBud personalities that talk to you through your PC and voice command recognition so you can speak to your Roomba. Let's just hope that when you give your Roomba a command to clean up i's room, the Roomba does not turn around and ask you "why?"

Videos of the RoomBud personalities can be viewed on-line at http://www.myroombud.com/itsalive.html

"This is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial development that RoboDynamics wants to see happen," noted Fred Nikgohar, Chief Executive Officer of RoboDynamics Corporation. "With the advent of Roomba SCI and the various development tools RoboDynamics provides to Roomba Developers, we fully expect a new breed of ventures that will utilize the iRobot Roomba Vacuuming Robot as a powerful robotic platform that is limited only by ones imagination. We congratulate the entire crew at myRoombBud for a job well done and look forward to further collaboration over the upcoming years."

"This is just sick!" said Niles Smith, cofounder of myRoomBud. "We sort of feel like little Dr. Frankensteins." While Roomba personalities bring the robots to (psedo)life for fun, the idea of having a Roomba do more than just vacuum such as having Alfred the RoomButler to go along with RoomBette La French Maid is a real possibility. "We are mapping out our house so that we can have the Roomba carry messages between our bedrooms," noted Tyler Smith, another cofounder. With the use of a Roomba command program written by their father, the myRoomBud kids are busy turning their Roomba Vacuuming Robot into the next R2-D2 or C3P0.

About myRoomBud

myRoomBud is a profitable, privately owned company started by kids, built by kids, and run by kids. If only the grown ups could do so well. Contact us day or night. We love to hear your comments. For the latest news and information, visit the company's Web site (www.myroombud.com)

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