Two years ago, iRobot came out with Roomba, the world’s first autonomous robot vacuum cleaner. Their latest update, the Roomba Red, is better and 25 percent cheaper.
Roomba will not replace your existing vacuum cleaner (it just doesn’t have the power and ability to provide the extensive cleaning you can do on your own), but it can honestly supplement your need to clean and is a great example of the advancements of robots, AI, and how the combination of the two are beginning to contribute to our lives.
The Roomba is arguably the world’s first affordable autonomous robot that serves a practical purpose – to clean so you don’t have to. We’re certainly not talking Rosie from The Jetsons, but for $150, this red round robot will navigate just about any room alone, doing a halfway decent job of cleaning minor buildup of dust and the like.
Of course there is a catch – almost any room Roomba works in must have some semblance of preparation. If there are loose speaker wires, ratty fringes from carpet and/or clothes, or any other objects you wouldn’t shove your upright vacuum into, then you’ll want to get it out before setting the robot loose.
A lot of R&D (reportedly over a decade in conjunction with MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) went into the original Roomba, in part coming up with key algorithms that enable Roomba to eventually cover all the surface area of just about any room. The key word is eventually. Roomba will often end up vacuuming one area 3, 4, or 5 times before getting to another spot just once. Considering Roomba has no eyes and ears, it’s modes of operation coupled with strategically placed sensors do a pretty solid job.
Roomba Red (along with other new models including Discovery models) has several key advances over the original:
- A “Dirt Detect” ™ system that use inaudible sonic sensors detecting particles “as fine as ground pepper”
- Faster Charging (used to be 12 hours to fully charge and now it’s under 7)
- Longer battery (up to 120 minutes)
- 3x larger dust bin
- Stronger suction
- Better sensors to help Roomba from remaining stuck
- $50 less than the original ($150 instead of $200)
The Roomba Red comes with a virtual wall unit that can block archways and doorways up to 13 feet across with an infrared beam that the Roomba will not cross. It is essentially the same as all other current generation Roomba models, except for colors and additional accessories such as a self charging homebase, a rapid battery charger, wall mounted charger, and wall mounted chargers
Company: iRobot
Price: $150
Available: Now
