Summary of Dancing with Roomba

Dancing with Roomba tells the story of everyone’s favorite working robot.

With nearly 50 million units sold, iRobot’s Roomba is a cultural icon.  But for five decades scores of earlier, would-be inventors tried and failed to create a practical robot vacuum cleaner.  Success, it turned out, would require a breakthrough at an MIT robotics lab, a preserving dreamer, and an inspired development team.  The book offers a peek behind the scenes revealing how this revolutionary product came to be, how it works, and how a tiny company bested a crowd of corporate giants.  

The book is written in an engaging and accessible style by Roomba’s chief architect.  Anyone who owns a Roomba, works in technology, dreams of building a product, or is just curious about the robot that launched a million memes will find much to love.

Author bio short (50 words)

Joe Jones grew up amid the Ozark hills.  An MIT physics major, he found his robot passion at the MIT AI Lab where he built Roomba’s earliest ancestor. Later, at iRobot his team brought Roomba to life.  Joe has founded two robot companies, authored four books, and holds 80+ patents.

Author bio long (193 words)

Born and raised in a tiny, rural Ozarks community, Joe Jones nurtured an early passion for science and technology.  Encouraged by a thoughtful high school teacher, he attended MIT and spent his undergraduate days preparing for a career in experimental physics.  But no compelling physics niche presented itself so, he embarked on a solo trip around the world.  Returning a year later, he gained a position on the research staff at the MIT AI Lab.  There he discovered his true calling: robots. 

Inspired by a new paradigm in robot programming developed at the Lab, he built Rug Warrior—Roomba’s earliest direct ancestor—for a maker event.  Upon leaving the AI Lab, Joe joined fledgling iRobot as the company’s first full time hire.  Several years later, he and a colleague proposed Roomba.  A tight-knit team formed to developed the robot and in three years they accomplished the goal that had eluded all others for a half-century.

Joe subsequently founded two companies: Harvest Automation, a maker of an agricultural robot, and Tertill Corporation, builders of a solar-powered robot that weeds home gardens.  The holder of 80+ US patents, Dancing with Roomba is Joe’s fourth book.

Publishable high resolution images