iRobot is best known for its robots used at home, and is now looking to enter the classroom with a new acquisition. The company has announced that it has acquired Root Robotics, which sells a robot and a platform that helps children learn to code.
Root Robotics originated as a research project at Harvard University a couple of years ago, and their Robot already looks considerably like a Roomba – it’s a small, circular device that uses two wheels to drive on a flat surface. It is accompanied by an app that teaches children how to program the robot to perform a variety of tasks, such as drawing (the robot has a position to place a marker), creating music or games, and more.
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iRobot says the acquisition will help it “diversify its educational robot product offering, further demonstrating its commitment to making robotic technology more accessible to educators, students and parents.” In doing so, it joins the space occupied by other similar companies, such as Wonder Taller, which makes Dash and Dot, and Learning Resource’s Botley, all of which teach coding and programming through their own applications.
Presumably, as Root allows iRobot to enter the education market, it will be able to use its existing platforms for future products. Root Robot is on sale now on the iRobot website and retails for $ 199 for an individual robot, while a 30-pack for classrooms costs less than $ 6,000. The company also sells an academic app ($ 60) and a whiteboard surface ($ 30) to get it working.
