Week in review: iRobot ramps up military robot production; Tech firms seek Olympic gold

Athletes are pursuing gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver this month and sponsors are hoping to boost their brands by affiliation with the games.
Acer, Atos Origin, Panasonic and Samsung are worldwide Olympic sponsors. The four companies are in British Columbia to entertain potential clients and showcase their technology products.
Also this week, iRobot, the company best known for its Roomba vacuum-cleaner robot, outlined its plans to increase production of robots for the U.S. military. It already has delivered 3,000 such robots for use in reconnaissance and bomb detection and disposal missions.
The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s Tech Blog.

Samsung, Panasonic, Acer and Atos Origin seek Olympic branding gold in Vancouver. (Feb. 19, 2010)

Dell defends its consumer PC business performance. (Feb. 19, 2010)

Logitech, Panasonic, Best Buy and others see big opportunities in the home video surveillance gear market. Best Buy is test marketing home video security gear in its stores. (Feb. 18, 2010)

Dell still unable to resume profit growth. But sales in Q4 rose for the first time in six quarters. (Feb. 18, 2010)

iRobot is ramping up its military robot production. (Feb. 18, 2010)

LogMeIn predicts boost from Apple’s iPad. (Feb. 18, 2010)

Redbox blindsides customers planning to rent “The Blind Side.” (Feb. 17, 2010)

From spy gear for kids to dog collars that post pet activity on Twitter, toy makers are using more tech. (Feb. 16, 2010)

Coinstar's Redbox caves to Warner Bros., agrees to delay DVD rentals. (Feb. 16, 2010)

Mattel’s latest toy discriminates against cats. The fur will fly when cat lovers find out. (Feb. 16, 2010)

Photo: iRobot’s SUGV 320 robot climbing stairs