iRobot, Inc., is an engineering contractor based in Massachusetts. Founded in the late 1980s, iRobot's mission statement is to build "cool stuff" while making money and changing the world for the better. The founders were accustomed to the academic environment of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab. They worked for large companies or governments that wanted them "to do something they [the clients] found interesting but only wanted one of...It was like being an artist working on commission." Contracts included diverse projects like "a crab-walkiing minesweeper for the Department of Defense, [and] a rugged oil-well-repair bot for Halliburton." Clearly, job-order costing was appropriate for these projects.