Q Robotics: The Wraps Come Off Wednesday Night

I've been waiting just about a year to find out what the heck Q Robotics is up to. (See this post from July 07.) Q is a sort of splinter from the iRobot tree; co-founders Joe Jones and Paul Sandin were both at iRobot previously, where they helped develop the first-gen Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner.

So far, they've been very stealthy. The Web site still says zilch about their focus.

But Joe Jones e-mailed today to let me know that Wednesday night at an MIT Enterprise Forum event, they'll be talking about their focus and strategy, and CEO Charlie Grinnell will show some video of prototype robots in action.

Jones writes via e-mail: "We found an agriculture-related application that meets three prerequisites I see as essential for a successful robot: 1) The robot satisfies is a genuine market need. 2) The task is within reach of current robotic technology. 3) The cost of the robotic system can be competitive with existing non-robotic solutions."

The Groton, MA company is also unveiling a new name: Harvest Automation.

I think that makes them the first Massachusetts company specializing in robotic farmworkers... but correct me if I'm wrong.