So iRobot dropped by the trailer today with its Ava robotics platform prototype, and I spent some quality time with the robot. After a quick mapping job of the trailer, Ava was able to navigate around our cluttered war room autonomously, while I set waypoints for it from an iPad app. Ava worked flawlessly, with zero injuries sustained by The Verge staff. In addition to the map controls, Ava can be manipulated by the bumpers on the bot itself, and the camera view lets me tap a point on the floor for Ava to go to, or use gestures to control the "head" (a mounted iPad). This is just a prototype, and iRobot hasn't really ironed out what Ava will be used for exactly — it's leaning on partnerships with developers, like some guys at Google, to really make Ava sing. Stand by for my interview with iRobot VP Mark Chiappetta, who built Ava, to explain further the strategy behind the bot.