Colin Angle Quotes

Powerful Colin Angle for Daily Growth

About Colin Angle

Colin Angle, born on August 17, 1964, is an American entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist best known as the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of iRobot Corporation, a leading global consumer robot company. Born in Massachusetts, Angle developed a keen interest in technology from a young age. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT in 1986. During his time at MIT, he was involved with the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and worked on projects that would later influence his career. After graduation, Angle went on to work for IBM and General Electric. However, it was during his military service in the U.S. Army that he encountered a need for robots capable of defusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) safely. This experience was instrumental in inspiring him to co-found iRobot with Rodney Brooks and Helen Greiner in 1990. iRobot's first product, the PackBot, was a remote-controlled military robot designed for bomb disposal. The success of this robot led to the creation of consumer robots, most notably the Roomba, an autonomous vacuum cleaner that revolutionized the household appliance industry. Angle's leadership has been recognized with numerous awards, including the MIT Technology Review TR35 as one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35 and the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year New England Award in 2013. He is also a passionate advocate for STEM education and serves on several boards promoting science, technology, engineering, and math. Today, Colin Angle continues to lead iRobot, driving innovation in consumer robots while maintaining a commitment to serving the U.S. military and first responders through advanced robotics solutions.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The future is not a place we go, but a place we create."

The quote emphasizes the power humans have in shaping our own future. Rather than passively waiting for the future to arrive, it encourages us to actively participate in creating it. It suggests that the future is not a predestined destination but rather a collective outcome of our actions, decisions, and innovations. In essence, it underscores the importance of taking responsibility for shaping our own destiny.


"Innovation doesn't mean coming up with big ideas; it means executing them faster than others can."

Colin Angle's quote emphasizes that innovation is not solely about generating unique or large ideas, but rather about the ability to execute those ideas more swiftly than competitors. This notion highlights the importance of speed and agility in bringing innovative concepts to market, ensuring a competitive advantage. The faster an idea can be turned into a reality, the greater its potential impact and the more significant the innovation's role in shaping the future.


"Technology is a tool that allows us to amplify our abilities and potential."

The quote by Colin Angle suggests that technology serves as an extension of human capabilities, enhancing our potential beyond what we can naturally achieve. It's a tool that enables us to perform tasks more efficiently, make discoveries, communicate effectively, and even solve complex problems on a scale previously unimaginable. In essence, technology empowers humanity by amplifying our inherent abilities and expanding our possibilities.


"The key to success is relentless execution."

Colin Angle's quote, "The key to success is relentless execution," emphasizes the importance of consistent and unwavering action in achieving one's goals. It suggests that success isn't just about having a good idea or a solid plan; it requires following through on those ideas with persistence and determination, regardless of challenges or setbacks. In other words, it is not just about having the will to win, but also about implementing that will relentlessly until victory is achieved. This quote encourages individuals to persevere in their pursuits, to keep moving forward even when faced with obstacles, and to remain committed to their goals until they are realized.


"The most important thing I've learned in business is that if you don't differentiate yourself, someone else will do it for you."

This quote by Colin Angle highlights the importance of uniqueness and innovation in business. It suggests that if a company fails to distinguish itself from its competitors through unique products, services, or strategies, there's a risk another business may capitalize on this opportunity instead, potentially leaving the original enterprise at a competitive disadvantage. Essentially, it underscores the need for businesses to find ways to stand out in order to thrive.


In the smart home of the future, there should be a robot designed to talk to you. With enough display technology, connectivity, and voice recognition, this human-interface robot or head-of-household robot will serve as a portal to the digital domain. It becomes your interface to your robot-enabled home.

- Colin Angle

Voice, Recognition, Serve, Interface

Building a robot that has legs and walks around is a very expensive proposition. Mother Nature has created many wonderful things, but one thing we do have that nature doesn't is the wheel, a continuous rotating joint, and tracks, so we need to make use of inventions to make things simpler.

- Colin Angle

Very, Rotating, Joint, Tracks

I learned to canoe at summer camp and thought I'd pursue Olympic whitewater canoeing. In my senior year of high school, I instead decided to attend M.I.T. I like to say I've had only two jobs in my life: whitewater canoeing instructor and wilderness guide in college, and C.E.O. of iRobot.

- Colin Angle

College, My Life, Olympic, Senior

The idea that a robot will become more aware of its environment, that telling it to 'go to the kitchen' means something - navigation and understanding of the environment is a robot problem. Those are the technological frontiers of the robotics industry.

- Colin Angle

Frontiers, Telling, Means, Robot

I was focused on building things from an early age. When I was about 3, our toilet broke, and my mother was ready to call the plumber. I told her I would fix it and asked her to get my Richard Scarry book 'How Things Work in Busytown.' Between the picture of a toilet and the text she read to me explaining how the parts worked, I fixed it.

- Colin Angle

Book, About, Our, Plumber

The reason it has taken so long for the robotics industry to move forward is because people keep trying to make something that is cool but difficult to achieve rather than trying to find solutions to actual human problems. Technology can be extremely expensive if you don't focus.

- Colin Angle

Reason, Achieve, Rather, Move Forward

When my daughter was 3, she was eating Cheerios and spilled some on the table. So she swiped them onto the floor. I said, 'Darcy, what are you doing?' She said: 'Don't worry, Daddy, the robot will get it.' I didn't know whether to be horrified or proud. It was this idea that homes take care of themselves and robots are part of that.

- Colin Angle

Doing, Some, Idea, Spilled

It is clear as you look at the team why Data Point Capital has so quickly become one of the premier venture capital firms. I look forward to adding to the firm's very bright future.

- Colin Angle

Data, Very, Capital, Premier

Starting out, iRobot was not an economic rocket ship. It took six and a half years before we had enough money in the bank at the beginning of each month to make payroll. We always made it - we paid salaries at the end of the month, and I always had four weeks to figure things out.

- Colin Angle

Beginning, Half, Weeks, Enough Money

One of the big things coming out of healthcare reform is a thing called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS) which is a mechanism to reimburse people staying at home for technology and services that allow them to stay at home.

- Colin Angle

Big, Allow, Staying, Supports

There are so many opportunities to make a bad decision in building a robot company on top of all the normal ways that entrepreneurs screw up that it is incredibly difficult to truly create value because it is so cost-sensitive.

- Colin Angle

Building, Bad, Entrepreneurs, Screw

People are fascinated by robots because they're machines that can mimic life.

- Colin Angle

Robots, Mimic, Fascinated, Machines

At the World Cup, there is a constant risk that you might find a bag or some object that has been left behind, and no one is quite sure what it is. To bring in a full bomb-disposal team for each item can be very time-consuming. The PackBot can go over rough terrain, climb stairs, pick things up, and also be operated from a safe distance.

- Colin Angle

Behind, Some, Very, Time-Consuming

In the beginning of Roomba, we all took turns answering the support line. Once, a woman called and explained that her robot had a defective motor. I said, 'Send it back. We'll send you a new one.' She said, 'No - I'm not sending you Rosie.'

- Colin Angle

Beginning, Woman, Motor, Answering

At MIT, in Professor Rodney Brooks' lab, I was involved in a project, led by Anita Flynn, to build robots using techniques similar to those used in building silicon chips. We got some silicon micro-machined motors to move a bit, but this didn't lead to an actual product.

- Colin Angle

Project, Chips, Some, Rodney

When I was building robots in the early 1990s, the problems of voice recognition, image understanding, VOIP, even touchscreen technologies - these were robotics problems.

- Colin Angle

Voice, Recognition, Image, 1990s

I thought boxes were the best toy. When my parents got a new car, I ran to my mother and said, 'Did it come in a box?'

- Colin Angle

Thought, New, Boxes, Ran

If you ask the typical two- or three-year-old or a teenager what a robot is, they will think about a humanoid that does my homework for me or walks the dog. When I go and talk to kids and pull out the Roomba, it's not this big 'Wow!' moment.

- Colin Angle

Big, Two, About, Teenager

Robotic toys can be very interesting, but it is important that the toy not 'dictate' how the child should play with it. Rather, it should take its cues from the child and enhance, teach, and enrich the play experience. We incorporated some of these features into a robotic baby doll we built for Hasbro in 1999.

- Colin Angle

Play, Some, Very, Robotic

In the end, robots do things that people can do. So there is a cost above which you can hire somebody to do it, and that bounds the opportunity.

- Colin Angle

Cost, Hire, Which, Bounds

If you want to make a serious, rugged, reliable robot, you can start with the Create platform and just build stuff on top of it.

- Colin Angle

Start, Want, Platform, Rugged

We're going to have robots in the home, but they're not going to be walking. Legs are complicated, unreliable and costly. Robots are going to look and be designed to meet the function they're supposed to perform. People will still name them and connect with them.

- Colin Angle

Will, Going, Still, Robots

Hollywood likes to imagine robots as mechanical copies of ourselves - which is a terrible idea.

- Colin Angle

Hollywood, Imagine, Which, Robots

It's hard not to love Roomba. Roomba had such an amazing impact on the field. When we launched, we asked people, 'Is it a robot?' and got an overwhelming no - 'robots' have arms and legs; they command data. There was a very strong perception that robots had to look like people.

- Colin Angle

Love, Strong, Very, Robots

The way that the robotics market is going to grow, at least in the home, is that we'll have a number of different special purpose robots.

- Colin Angle

Purpose, Grow, Going, Robots

The ideal vacuum cleaner would be one you never see. It needs to not just be a cool gadget, but a product that cleans your floor correctly. I can imagine people having a cupboard full of robots that only come out when you need them to fulfil a specific purpose.

- Colin Angle

Purpose, Your, Gadget, Robots

We will not have humanoid androids. It's interesting: when you start trying to make robots look more human, you end up making them look more grotesque. It takes very little to go from super-attractive robot to hideous robot.

- Colin Angle

End, Robot, Very, Robots

When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people to take it seriously, so we gave it more of an industrial look. People personified their Roomba anyway. Over 80 percent of people name their robot. We did nothing to encourage people to do that, but they do it anyway.

- Colin Angle

Cute, Percent, Explicitly, Designed

Did Google need to make robot cars in order to make Streetview work? Absolutely not. It's the equivalent of saying you need a walking robot in order to push an upright vacuum cleaner. It's gratuitous robotics!

- Colin Angle

Need, Equivalent, Gratuitous, Push

I grew up mostly in Schenectady, N.Y. From an early age, building and creating things was a real passion for me.

- Colin Angle

Real, Mostly, Grew, Early Age

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