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Vacuum cleaners look like this.

> And... do the robots run Linux?
As a matter of fact, in the robotics world the use of linux is quite large. I don't have any exact numbers but a guestimate would be around 50% linux based and the rest split between windows and embedded operating systems like VxWorks - depending a bit on how you define a "robot" and how you define "linux". Many robots used for the applications mentioned above come from eg. irobot .
Oh, and yes, I am a roboticist.

iRobot make an "iRobot Create" robot variant of their Roomba robo-vacuum-cleaner that can do that. As I understand it it's basically the same platform/capabilities as the Roomba except that it has a control interface and doesn't do the vacccum thing. The self-charge capability certainly makes it pretty unique and attractive for an always-on home robot (toy or research or anywhere inbetween).

http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=289

Clean gutters

The people that made the vacuum robots are way ahead of you.

iRobot, the company that brought you the Roomba, makes a robot that cleans gutters.

http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=354

Make it an extension to google desktop and add an RFID scanner to this guy and by golly you've got a money tree on your hands.

There's even the PackBot model for dealing with people who have really, really messy offices, but that's probably out of my price range.

The PackBot and larger Warrior models have also been weaponized.

The PackBot and larger Warrior models have also been weaponized.

But it eventually leads to horse-sized Roombas which can be GPS, waypoint and optically-guided to pick up both litter and miscreants! It'd be tourist attraction just by itself!

They already do - when the battery is low, it will return to the base to charge (only limitation is it needs line of sight w/ the charging base). And you can use the scheduler to make it start whenever you want it to.

http://store.irobot.com/product/index.jsp?productI d=2432696&cp=2174940.2174930&CFTOKEN=33755573&CFID =5935343&parentPage=family

2)Combine with a Roomba.

3)Profit!!!

Get the darn thing to do some usefull work while you surf the web.

Just build a big Roomba thingy. That should get the job done in a few thousand years or so.

How about the iRobot Create platform? You can get ten of them for $1k, it's got the controller as well as the mechanics in a robust package.

Which, in reply, I wish to direct you here, here, or even here. Or if unmanned robotic efforts are more your cup of tea, here (one of which just happens to be the subject for today here).

What, was somene not expecting a smart-ass reply to that?

Aren't most robots flightless? Sure, Tom Servo has a hover-skirt, but that's not really flight.

More seriously, I knew that iRobot was the company that manufactured my Roomba, but it looks like they're doing some other pretty cool stuff.

If I was a soldier sent to an area with snipers I think I would prefer first to have plenty of Kevlar, this thing would then come second.

In a fast retreat (even just a short one) you would probable have to leave these 150K$ slowly moving along slowly on it's own in enemy territory.

Actually I'm really looking forward to the iRobot.

Aww, I thought I was so original with that pun, but I decided to google iRobot and looks like I wasn't the first to use it http://www.irobot.com/. Look out iRobot company, Apple will be on to you next.

I always enjoy a clever hack, but I've got to point out that my Roomba already has a remote: http://store.irobot.com/product/index.jsp?productI d=2215227&cp=2174941.2174944.2174947&parentPage=su bcategory

Works great.

Who ever wrote this article sure chose his words to make it sound expensive. He made it sound as if you have to buy that Pioneer robot for $40,000 in order to use it.

That's simply not the case. You can develop for a wide range of robots with this from the Parallax Boe-Bot, Lego Mindstorm NXT and Roomba all the way up to those expensive robots for $40,000 or more. You can even build it for custom robots based on little pics like the BASIC Stamp computer and others similar to it.

The beauty of this package is that you can program it visually (using the Visual Programming Langauage) or in C# or VB - depending on your skill level.

Bill

Um... Yes, you can.
http://store.irobot.com/family/index.jsp?categoryI d=2174930&cp=2174940Processors in a vacuum

I would love to see something like this on a small cleaning droid like the iRobot if the C02 output was minimal.

http://store.irobot.com/product/index.jsp?productI d=2475131

I always wondered if an individual could setup their own DGPS and use it for navigating home robots. For example, my Roomba would be more efficient if it had a layout of my home and knew where it was. But GPS is too broad. But could I place a DGPS receiver in my house and make a GPS accurate to 10 cm (As I've heard people claim is possible)? If I understand the principle correctly, DGPS is just about knowing your position precisely and sending out correction information.

How common are DGPS receivers?

Robots may not be ready to cook breakfast, but they do a decent job vacuuming the house or cleaning the kitchen floor: http://www.irobot.com/.

I think they already are.

I can think of only two companies that have attempted to sell robots in the domestic market, Sony and its err.. Dog, and Dyson with a robotic vacumm cleaner.

Um, iRobot? The Roomba (and the Scooba, more recently)? They're much more well-known than Dyson's robotic vacuum, and much more useful and reasonably priced than the Aibo. The Roomba and Scooba seem to fulfill the goals of safety and functionality. They have a simple enough task that safety is just a matter of stopping if something is in their way, and they have dedicated hardware to do their job.

Admittedly, they aren't general-purpose robots, but I predict that specialized robots like the ones iRobot makes will be much more commonplace and useful than humanoid robots that can vaguely interact with real humans, wander around, and not do much else. Building a robot for the purpose of vacuuming or mopping a floor is 1000x easier than building a robot that could learn how to vacuum, if you gave it an upright vacuum and it had the dexterity to operate it. Robots should not use human tools, they should be tools.

I can think of only two companies that have attempted to sell robots in the domestic market, Sony and its err.. Dog, and Dyson with a robotic vacumm cleaner.

Um, iRobot? The Roomba (and the Scooba, more recently)? They're much more well-known than Dyson's robotic vacuum, and much more useful and reasonably priced than the Aibo. The Roomba and Scooba seem to fulfill the goals of safety and functionality. They have a simple enough task that safety is just a matter of stopping if something is in their way, and they have dedicated hardware to do their job.

Admittedly, they aren't general-purpose robots, but I predict that specialized robots like the ones iRobot makes will be much more commonplace and useful than humanoid robots that can vaguely interact with real humans, wander around, and not do much else. Building a robot for the purpose of vacuuming or mopping a floor is 1000x easier than building a robot that could learn how to vacuum, if you gave it an upright vacuum and it had the dexterity to operate it. Robots should not use human tools, they should be tools.

I can think of only two companies that have attempted to sell robots in the domestic market, Sony and its err.. Dog, and Dyson with a robotic vacumm cleaner.

Um, iRobot? The Roomba (and the Scooba, more recently)? They're much more well-known than Dyson's robotic vacuum, and much more useful and reasonably priced than the Aibo. The Roomba and Scooba seem to fulfill the goals of safety and functionality. They have a simple enough task that safety is just a matter of stopping if something is in their way, and they have dedicated hardware to do their job.

Admittedly, they aren't general-purpose robots, but I predict that specialized robots like the ones iRobot makes will be much more commonplace and useful than humanoid robots that can vaguely interact with real humans, wander around, and not do much else. Building a robot for the purpose of vacuuming or mopping a floor is 1000x easier than building a robot that could learn how to vacuum, if you gave it an upright vacuum and it had the dexterity to operate it. Robots should not use human tools, they should be tools.

Probably not, but we can at least make it challenging for them: I for one would pay good money to see "Day of the Scoobas"...

Tell that to my mother I you will surely be hit with her purse, let me rephrase what she told me when I bought her this cute robot, it was something like "wow, and think that this gadget manages to clean better than you did" (as I hated to clean my room when I was a kid).

And not just the summary (as it was copied & pasted verbatim from the article), but the NYT.

I thought on reading the line " to make robots full members of society" that the article was talking about robot rights. However, the article is just about making plans for standard automation & borderline AI over the next 10 years.

I for one am going to await until this company is taken over by the rightful owners of that name before I bother to get excited by robots.

That name is already taken by the makers of both the common robotic vacuum and the army's robotic killing machines.

That name is already taken by the makers of both the common robotic vacuum and the army's robotic killing machines.

That name is already taken by the makers of both the common robotic vacuum and the army's robotic killing machines.

In addition to the open positions, we generally have room for interns, especially if you are a hands-on type.

All of our openings for both the Consumer and Government divisions are in our Burlington, MA headquarters located about 20 minutes from downtown Boston. The Government division also has a small facility in San Luis Obispo, CA about 4 hours from LA, where we make rare hires when we find the right people.

Drop me a note at "hsonpal at our domain name" when you apply - I'll let HR know that I'm referring you.

-- Hiten

Something like a gumstix device would be an ideal platform-- it has linux, it has serial, and potentially wifi / bluetooth. You could even power the thing off of the roomba battery.

Yes, they actually built those things.

And they work great - be prepared to buy one for each family member that sees it in action.

'The average geek house' ...is not exactly the 'average' target demographic. The manufacturer assumes a modicum of upbringing, that includes such routine habits as flushing the toilet more than once a day, not creating fire hazards by casual cable placement and knowing the fine art of routine household management.

Roombas really are quite well thought out - knows when to go back and recharge...dozens of sensors help it learn...maps each room after one pass, etc. Very cool to watch in action, and a real treat to come home from work to a clean floor.

There are a few in use currently in Iraq. There is the Talon which can fire many different weapons (M249, .50 cal, M4A1, M24, etc). They are very accurate, more accurate than any soldier. Every EOD team seems to have one of these which they use to detonate IEDs.

UAVs are everywhere and are common place in almost all operations. There is the Predator, which when armed with the hellfire missile system can be very leathal and the little Raven which can be utilized at the squad level. The new Viper Strike bombs, which are starting to be depoyed on UAVs, are very usefull in urban situations where you need to take out the enemy without harming innocents in say, the next room. This is a big development because the "insurgents" like to take shelter in mosques, schools, and hospitals, etc. The new Hardstop bombs help in this situation as well (but I do not think they are carried by UAVs). Anyways, here is an exellent video/story which mixes captured enemy video with the video from the UAV which nails them. I love UAVs.

There are many Military Robots that have been actively used in the past. Most of them are drones for mapping or reconnaissance. Note that the Ottawa Treaty of 1999 forbids the production of armed autonomous robots, but South Korea obviously refused to sign the treaty (as did China, Russia, the US, and about 40 others).

The US has used the PackBot in combat situations, but I believe it has never had munitions mounted on it. It looks like iRobot's vacuum cleaning and navigation technology in the Roomba can be reused to "sweep" for land mines in a minefield.

There are many Military Robots that have been actively used in the past. Most of them are drones for mapping or reconnaissance. Note that the Ottawa Treaty of 1999 forbids the production of armed autonomous robots, but South Korea obviously refused to sign the treaty (as did China, Russia, the US, and about 40 others).

The US has used the PackBot in combat situations, but I believe it has never had munitions mounted on it. It looks like iRobot's vacuum cleaning and navigation technology in the Roomba can be reused to "sweep" for land mines in a minefield.

Ok so my questions:
* how usable are those mitten-like hand things? can it fetch me a beer from the fridge? or just order a beer online to be delivered?
* does it include a Roomba? If it's going to be rolling around my apartment anyway...
* with a 10,000 word vocabulary, what kind of conversation can you have with it? i'm imagning a weird sort of Japanese "Eliza" (Eriza?). "Why do you think it is imporant to wake up at 6:00?"

iRobot may be cute, but they also make some scary military stuff.

I wonder how well if at all it works on carpet of other non-hard surfaces

While my cottage is fully serviced by a fleet of Roombas, I think this Scooba might be useful in the kitchen area with all that linoleum. No mention of how much linoleum-damaging chemical solution is in that Clorox cleaner.

But more than just those two robots, I think that keeping the elves at bay with this thing might be useful as well

Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is faster. It all depends on what you mean when you say it's "the fastest robot to date."

... No, they're called Roomba.

While I agree with most of the parent's post, I think BEAM has a lot of promise when it comes to practical robot design. I would compare it to a Roomba before an AIBO (there's a reason the AIBO costs almost $2k). The BEAM concept focuses on developing specific behaviours/mechanisms to achieve specific goals, and evolving them into more complex systems.

The robosapien is less a humaniod "robot" and more of a bug-bot with two legs and and arms. For a street price of $70, that's not too bad. My only grip with the robosapien is that there are only 3 programmable responses (left bumper, right bumper, and sound), even though it has 7 sensors (6 bumpers + the sound sensor). If one could get a different response to backing into things, then one could program more interesting behaviors. Right now I can get him to walk (slooowwwwllly) around a room, backing up and turning when bumping into objects. It's still a toy, and my 2- and 4-year-olds like to dance with it and make it move around.

Something like that already exists and it's very useful ;)

The PackBot has had great success with a similar wheel. In that application, it's used as a sprocket for a track, but it's the same flexible-spoke concept. The PackBot is so rugged that normal usage is to throw it through a window into a building, then drive it around to see what's inside.

No scarier or faultprone than a Predator drone, armed with Hellfires, being flown remotely by a pilot on the ground.