IRobot introduces new floor washing robots

Bedford’s iRobot Corp. said Thursday that it is expanding its line of Scooba floor washing Robots. The compact Scooba 230 is being introduced to markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, iRobot said in a press release. Scooba 230 was developed to meet the need for a robot that cleans tight spaces in bathrooms and kitchens. The Scooba 230 is 3.5 inches tall and 6.5 inches in diameter. The company said it is also upgrading its iRobot Scooba 390, a floor-washing robot designed for bigger jobs. It has a 30 percent longer battery life than its predecessors, iRobot claims. The Scooba 390 is available in the United States. The company makes two product lines. One, which includes the Scooba models, performs household tasks and aims at the consumer market. A second iRobot business is making robots for military services and law-enforcement agencies. These robots can do reconnaissance missions and help dispose of bombs and improvised explosive devices. Last month, iRobot warned that its military robot business will likely be affected by cuts in defense spending. But iRobot added then that sales of its home-cleaning robots have surged, especially outside the United States, where 70 percent of its consumer robots are sold.