iRobot announces the iRobot Create, an affordable, programmable robot.

"Innovators dream of creating useful robots, but they often get bogged down with designing a mobile platform that works," said Helen Greiner, co-founder and chairman of iRobot. "iRobot Create fills a need in the robot industry for a standard, durable hardware platform on which to rapidly develop new, innovative mobile robots."

Create is based on the core technology of iRobot Roomba.
new platform provides access to robot sensors and actuators via an open interface. Create also features standard connections for electronics and threaded mounting holes that allow users to secure their inventions to the robot, streamlining the integration of third-party electronics such as sensors, cameras, arms and wireless connections. Create comes pre-assembled, so developers can design new robots without having to build a mobile robot from scratch.
Prices start at $129.99.
More details on the iRobot site.