The long-awaited PC-based robots from White Box Robotics are one step closer with an announcement today that the company will begin accepting orders on May 10 for shipping sometime before the end of 2005. The first production run will be limited to 3,000 units. The entire White Box website has been taken down until May 10th, so details and pricing information won't be available until then. For more, see our previous story on White Box Robotics. We'll provide a detailed review of the new robot if Tom ships us a review unit (hint, hint). The full text of today's press release follows.

White Box Robotics to Unveil New Species of PC-BOT at RoboBusiness Conference

Company Offering PC-BOT Open Platform for Innovators to Build Their Own Robots

Pittsburgh, PA, USA 5 May 2005 White Box Robotics today announced that on May 10th it is making available for sale, from its web site, the new White Box 914 PC-BOT. A manufacturing-ready prototype will be demonstrated at the upcoming RoboBusiness conference in Boston on the same day. The Company will take orders using the Paypal service and will deliver the first limited production run of 3,000 robots to early adopters in time for Christmas.

The PC-BOT changes the robotics landscape with a fundamental shift in flexibility, functionality and affordability. Until now, enthusiasts and robotics labs have had the choice of buying proprietary garage-quality platforms at a reasonable price, or higher quality proprietary platforms for $10,000 and up. For about the price of a good PC, customers can add their choice of available processors, hard drives and thousands of other mature PC parts to the 914 chassis. The end result is a very high quality, visually striking, functional mobile robot that is built out to be whatever the end-user wants.

Were very excited to be embracing PC enthusiasts, robotics enthusiasts and educational communities alike with the 914 PC-BOT. This is a next generation PC. Things have been pretty stale in that industry for a few years, and the 914 gives modders a new stage for their work, said Thomas Burick, Founder and President of White Box Robotics. Educators can afford multiple 914s for their labs. Robotics enthusiasts finally have a high quality platform they can afford. The PC-BOT opens up new possibilities for commercial exploitation by forward-thinking OEMs. I cant wait to see where these communities take the platform with their talent and imagination.

White Box Robotics introduced the model 912 pre-production prototype at the Robonexus conference in Santa Clara last October. Rather than proceeding to manufacture with the 912, the Company decided to make several key improvements to the robot in order to ensure customer satisfaction. The new model 914 includes upgraded power supply and batteries, upgraded stepper motors, newly designed eye area with improved LEDs, and other minor but ultimately important features.

Our early adopter community has been patient for months now. We appreciate them hanging in there and were so pleased to finally take firm orders, said Burick. Now that were going to manufacture, growing our team and getting the end-users talents working on the PC-BOT platform, well be evolving it rapidly going forward.

About White Box Robotics White Box Robotics is the creator of the PC-BOT, the worlds first mobile robot made from off-the-shelf PC parts. Their patent-pending technology delivers flexible, affordable and visually striking mobile robots for commercial and educational markets. For more information or to place an order for a 914 PC-BOT, please visit the company web site at www.WhiteBoxRobotics.com.

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