Former iRobot chair launches DroidWorks

Helen Greiner, one of the cofounders of iRobot and previously their chairperson, announced recently what she's doing next. She announced a new stealth-mode company, The Droid Works, which will first focus on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Unfortunately Greiner wouldn't answer any questions about the company beyond what she had already told Xconomy, but here's the little bit they did get from her:

â''Our first project is in the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] space, and a team of people from around the country are working on this project today." [...]

â''I am not ready to describe the types of UAVs, missions, or what the company will take on in the future yet,â'' her note said.

My own personal entirely unsubstantiated theory is that she'll be working with micro UAVs, which we've covered here before. Large UAVs like the Predator drone are pretty well established with the large defense contractors, so it'd be hard for a small tiger team startup to compete; however, micro UAVs are still being worked on in research labs and could use some defense and/or venture funding to get out into the real world and be commercialized. It'd make a lot of sense. But it could be a while before we know for sure what she's up to.