BEDFORD, Mass., January 31, 2012 – iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic technology-based solutions, today announced a $6 million investment and expanded partnership with InTouch Health, a leading remote presence telemedicine solution provider. The $6 million investment represents a minority position in the company.
Today’s announcement expands upon the joint development and licensing agreement iRobot announced in July 2011, which was established to explore opportunities for healthcare applications on iRobot platforms, such as the iRobot Ava mobile robotics platform. Under the expanded agreement, InTouch Health will provide access to FDA regulated healthcare facilities, providing iRobot with an initial foray into hospitals, emergency care facilities, patient wards and operating and procedure rooms. Working closely together, iRobot and InTouch will collaborate on a wide variety of technologies across each company’s patent portfolio and leverage combined expertise in remote presence telemedicine solutions.
“Currently operating in over 400 hospitals in the U.S. and around the world, InTouch is in a very unique position as one of the first developers of FDA-cleared telemedicine devices,” said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. “iRobot’s investment will further align these two leaders, creating a best of breed partnership that will develop robots for remote healthcare and assistive technologies for the elderly.”
“As evident from the demonstrations of Ava, iRobot is the industry leader in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence.” said Yulun Wang, chairman and CEO of InTouch Health. “Working together, InTouch Health and iRobot will pioneer remote presence in healthcare settings, providing anytime anywhere patient care in hospital ICU's, patient wards and operating and procedure rooms.”
About iRobot Corp.
iRobot designs and builds robots that make a difference. The company’s home robots help people find smarter ways to clean, and its government and industrial robots protect those in harm’s way. iRobot’s consumer and military robots feature iRobot Aware® robot intelligence systems, proprietary technology incorporating advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence. For more information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.
About InTouch
InTouch Health provides comprehensive telemedicine solutions and expertise that enable physicians to perform real-time consults with patients. Through a single portal, physicians can access a host of purpose-built, FDA-cleared telemedicine devices to provide care anywhere across the continuum: homes, clinics, ambulances, procedure rooms, EDs, ICUs, and patient wards. The InTouch Health Remote Presence telemedicine network is powered through its SureConnect® cloud-based infrastructure providing unparalleled connection quality and reliability, interoperability, workflow imaging and documentation, and services and support. Wherever access to medical expertise is limited, InTouch Health's Remote Presence telemedicine solutions can effectively extend the physician's reach to manage patient care, thereby removing critical time and distance barriers. The Company has more than 400 hospital locations on six continents enrolled in its Remote Presence network for the delivery of telemedicine services such as stroke, critical care, cardiology, trauma, pediatrics, neonatology, psychiatry, language translation, and clinical education and surgical/procedure mentoring. For more information about InTouch Health, please visit www.intouchhealth.com.
For iRobot Investors
Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, iRobot Corp.’s expectations concerning management's plans, objectives and strategies. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. iRobot Corp. undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by iRobot Corp., see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Contact:
Elise Caffrey
Investor Relations
iRobot Corp.
(781) 430-3003
ecaffrey@irobot.com
Matt Lloyd
Media Relations
iRobot Corp.
(781) 430-3720
mlloyd@irobot.com
