Last night news broke that iRobot had made a major acquisition, snatching up Pasadena-based Evolution Robotics and its Mint line of floor cleaning robots. The deal was $74 million in cash from the company’s reserves.

I had the chance to ask CEO Colin Angle about the deal, what it means for his company, and for robotics as an industry.

“This is really a layup,” Angle told me, calling the Mint line “synergistic” with iRobot’s Roomba. The Mint is designed to basically swiffer hardwood floors, and boasts impressive navigation technology. What it lacks is iRobot’s distribution chain.

“The idea that we could take a high quality product, put it into our manufacturing and distribution network and rapidly grow its market value made all the sense in the world,” said Angle.

Paolo Pirjanian, CEO of Evolution, will become CTO of iRobot, and split his time between Pasadena and iRobot’s headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts. The rest of the 12 person Evolution team will stay put in Pasadena.

I asked Angle if this marked any change in the company’s overall strategy, given looming cuts to the defense budget, another area where iRobot excels. “It really doesn’t,” he replied, reiterating the company’s commitment to defense and explaining that “the Evolution opportunity was just too good not to do.”

Asked about future acquisitions, Angle said it would be a central plank in the company’s strategy as the industry matures.

“We are continuously looking for acquisition opportunities, and we are very picky,” he told me. “We have been pateintly waiting for some of these smaller private companies.”

This week iRobot’s Roomba celebrates its 10th birthday, iRobot co-founder Rodney Brooks releases his startup’s first robot, and iRobot nabs a West Coast firm. It looks like robotics is growing up, and doing it in Massachusetts.