iRobot · working robot
Roomba
original
A low disc-shaped vacuum that cleaned in random patterns and bumped its way around furniture.
- Price
- $199Cheaper than 100%
- Height
- —Not published
- Weight
- —Not published
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
The first commercially successful robot vacuum.
Real-world use
iRobot has sold more than 50 million consumer robots since 2002 (all models).
Maker
iRobotCompany · founded 1990 · Bedford, Massachusetts, United StatesAmazon's US$1.7B takeover was abandoned in January 2024; Chapter 11 filed 14 December 2025
How it stacks up
Against other working & field robots that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Roomba (original) costs less than 100% of the 20 other working & field robots that publish a price. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: height, weight, speed, payload, joints, battery.
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current machines.
- 6,764 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Roomba)
- 3 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Wheeled base
- How it runs
- Fully autonomous. It cleaned floors automatically, alternating spirals, straight runs and wall following, with sensors to avoid stairs.
- Actuators & motors
- Two drive wheels; counter-rotating brushes and side brush; vacuum.
- Sensors & vision
- Front contact bumper, infrared obstacle sensor, infrared cliff sensors; Virtual Wall infrared beacon accessory.
- Battery & power
- Rechargeable pack running about 90 minutes; the original charger took overnight (a faster $69 charger was planned).
- AI & software
- iAdapt-style reactive behaviours (spiral, wall-follow, random bounce) based on Rodney Brooks's insect-like control; user set room size with three buttons.
- Other details
- About 2.7 kg (six pounds). First generation came as silver Roomba, blue Roomba Pro and maroon Roomba Pro Elite.
Lineage
Every iRobot machine in order.
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- $199About $199 at launch (TechCrunch); sold as the Roomba Intelligent FloorVac.
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Built
- About 1 million Roombas sold by 2004 (Fortune, 2013).
- Sold or delivered
- Retail at about $199 (sold as the Roomba Intelligent FloorVac). iRobot later reported more than 50 million robots sold across all models
- Where it is sold or used
- Designed by iRobot, Massachusetts
- Customers and pilots
- Consumers; first sold through Brookstone, Hammacher Schlemmer and The Sharper Image
News
The latest 3, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- Roomba maker files for bankruptcy
A3 reported iRobot had entered Chapter 11, with China-based suppliers set to take over the company.
Association for Advancing Automation (A3) - How iRobot got to the Roomba
TechCrunch traced iRobot's path from defence robots to the $199 Roomba sold through specialty retailers in 2002.
TechCrunch - iRobot bets on a cheap cleaning robot
A newspaper report on the new Roomba described its infrared navigation, six-pound weight and roughly 90-minute battery.
New York Times News Service (copy hosted by CMU Field Robotics Center)
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every robot: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. Few robots match closely, so these are the nearest matches. How we choose
| Measure | Roomba (original)iRobot |  TrilobiteElectroluxSame job: home floor vacuuming · Both on wheels · Both past robots |
|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2002-09-18 | 1997-12-01 |
| Status | Discontinued | Discontinued |
| Height | — | — |
| Weight | — | — |
| Joints | — | — |
| Speed | — | — |
| Payload | — | — |
| Battery | — | — |
| Price | $199 | $1,800 |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use