Case in point, at least until now: iRobot, maker of everyone's favorite robotic vacuums ... and military support robots. (Now spun off, but a core part of the

Case in point, at least until now: iRobot, maker of everyone's favorite robotic vacuums ... and military support robots. (Now spun off, but a core part of the company's strategy for two decades.) Its first years were DARPA-funded for the military applications.