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iRobot Moves Into Your House
MacAndrew writes "An NYT article today expands beyond an earlier /. and annoying futurism to a multiplying line of robots from iRobot, founded by some tinkering MIT grads in Somerville, MA. The robots have found applications ranging from chasing dust bunnies ($200) to exploring the Great Pyramid to bumping around Afghan caves for mines (a war reporter is another possibility), and so appear to be moving beyond the gee whiz Rosie Jetson stage of technology. I'm intrigued that their company name so bluntly builds off of Apple and Asimov symbols, and the prospect that a product with such a chummy name will doubtless soon be sporting lethal force (cf. Predator's recent adventures. So -- anyone get one for Xmas? Chanukah? Or just fun?"
This is welcome news, I'm very lazy and I've always wanted something else to do my cleaning, pyramid exploring and killing for me.
Robots, anime, Microsoft. Robots, anime, Microsoft.
I think we understand.
I got a Roomba for my boyfriend and my Mother for Christmas. They think it's the neatest thing since sliced bread.
The only problems we've found so far are that if you have small (e.g. 6"ish) gaps in your wall, say a bookcase, gap, CD tower, gap, bookcase, the Roomba may get confused and not realize there's a wall there. That's what the virtual wall is for. The other issue is animals. They don't know what to think of it.
Karma: Food Fight (Mostly affected by Date Plate).
I hate vaccuming. I'm wondering how easy it is to maintain... Will keeping the robot running (emptying bags, charging, etc.) be less work than just vaccuming alone. Also how well will it cover the floor? will it miss large spots because of charis and other obscacles? I'm not gonna have to go in after it and vaccum spots it missed, will I?
-Derick
.. but all I got was a dancing robot alarm clock. Still, with a little work, I think I could modify it to destroy my enemies, rob banks or something else equally useful...
Roving Web-Teleoperated Robot
That is a badass little device. I've got several cats, and I was worried about whether it could handle kitty litter tracked out of the bathroom, or the rather large amount of cat hair. It handles both just fine. Also, my house is rather cluttered with workout equipment and electronics, and it manages to navigate very well, even getting into corners most of the time. all in all, it was an excellent purchase. I do recommend getting the 2 hour charger if you can find it, though.
"This is your world. These are your people. You can live for yourself today, or help build tomorrow for everyone."
"I'm intrigued that their company name so bluntly builds off of Apple and Asimov symbols, and the prospect that a product with such a chummy name will doubtless soon be sporting lethal force..."
This doesn't surpise me at all. If this happened in 1999, it would be "eRobot" or "Robot.com" instead. The marketing drones just go with what is hot. They just throw around buzz.
How to Download YouTube Videos
The Asmimov thing I get with the I Robot. And it is a homage to a great master whose work about robots has influenced 99.9 of robotic sci-fi since, and probably 100% of all people building robots now. Paying some respects in a major way.
"I'm intrigued that their company name so bluntly builds off of Apple and Asimov symbols"
I disagree with the connection to apple. Because IBOOK and IMAC were products long after I-Robot hit the shelves. I Robot hit the shelves in 1950, so I say they got the jump on Apple. Maybe Asmimovs family should seek some sort of injunction. An IBook,Imac is a silicon based calculating machine, here we have prior art for 52 years, that Asimov actively developed until 1976. Apple is always suing people for walking past the factory, or releasing a case that emulates theirs.
I like Apple, I own an IBOOK. Good little machine. I own three x86's running windows, linux, and solaris(gasp yes solaris,stability at its finest). I never associated my apple with Asimov, and never will. But probbably some geeks over at apple gave it the name to pay homage to a great man.
Point is that Apple had nothing to do with inspiring this company. Shameless apple plug.
man, messing with the Asimov the day after christmas. it just aint right.
Puto
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Robots are cool at first, but they will become as obtrusive as a visit from the mother-in-law. You do not want to trip over one of these things at 2am when you are raiding the fridge.
It is also bad enough when the dog is looking at you when you are having sex, but a robot running around the room straightening up while you are doing the nasty is probably worse(unless you are into that kinda thing).
Give people seamless technology, that is as unobtrusive and "invisible" as possible, and you will have a winner.
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When you come to a fork in the road, take it! --Yogi Berra--
The Predator UAV is nothing but a big radio controlled aircraft - it takes two human operators to fly and use the system. There are UAV's that are truly robots (Global Hawk for one)http://www.af.mil/news/factsheets/global.html
but in the context of this Slashdot story Predator is completely irrelevant and incorrect.
Headline around Christmas in 2006:
"New Roomba Virus Released; Owners Advised to Lock Roomba (or Pets)"
AP -- NYC
A new strain of CatLover Roomba virus was released yesterday by a Russian hacker. When infected, Roomba will apparently start chasing household cats and dogs and try to electrecute them. Owners are advised to download the lastest patch from roombavirusnomore.com to prevent tragedies. Authorities in US and Russia are collaborating closely in pursuit of the suspect..."
OMG, the horror!
are you ready for it? Xmas. That isn't an X, it's a "chi," the Greek letter, which happens to stand for "Kristo." Xmas predates the use of Christmas by a goodly margin.
KFG
The article specifically says that the company was founded in 1990, and was based off the Asimov book.
If you all think to 1990, Apple didn't have any 'i' products. I mean, the Mac II line was the top of the crop back then. [68030, in the IIfx]. You don't get to any 'i' products until after you go through the 68040 [Centris, Quadra, Performa (3 digit)] lines, the 60x series [PowerMac, Performa (4 digit)]. Nothing was named with an 'i' until 1998, with the first iMac, which was almost a year after the first (beige) G3.
So, I'd have to say that there is no possible way that the name 'iRobot' has anything to do with apple, and that the original contributor of the story (although the story was very interesting), was just confused on the whole matter.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
I bought one a couple of months ago. I live in a loft with 2 cats. Here are some of my observations:
- It does really well with cat hair and dirt/dust, but it doesn't scrub the floor. So if you have dried mud, it just goes over it.
- I've already had to disassemble it a couple of times to clean out the cat hair and strings that get wrapped around the various rollers. It's not a huge problem, and I actually like digging through the machine.
- I must get the rapid charger. Charging for 12 hours for 90 minutes is not fun. Having a spare battery and a charging doc would be a nice addition.
- My cats were freaked out at first, but they've come to accept it. They causally walk around it while it's going.
- It not silent. It is a vacuum, and it sounds like one.
- The debris cup could be a little bigger.
- It has a tendancy to smite my enemies, and reward my allies.
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The current model is cool, but like the reviewer, I want more features-- a little more intelligence and autonomy, for one thing.
I'd like it to be able to locate and drive into its recharger when it's done.
I'd like it to be able to empty its own dirt cup.
A decent solution for both issues above would be to make the recharger a raised platform with a small ramp the Roomba must negotiate. Have dirt cup open from underneath like a railroad hopper car, and let it empty into a larger dirt receptacle beneath the recharger that I could dump out weekly.
I'd also like to be able to set it to run only when I'm at work, and to set it do do high-traffic rooms more often than others.
Additionally, I'd like Roomba to be a little smarter about where it's been-- maybe have an option to load a floorplan into it, and have it 'know' where it is relative to its recharger station at all times during its run.
I'd be more than willing to pay $400-500 for such a beast.
~Philly
We've been using a Roomba for some time now and are getting ready to add two more to the house (one for each floor).
When I leave in the morning, I just set it in the middle of the kitchen, hit the L[arge] button and go to work. The Roomba then does its thing and vacuums the kitchen, living room, and dining room. It sweeps under all the furniture and with one exception (detailed below) doesn't get "trapped" or caught.
I do pick up one small rug with a fringe that the Roomba doesn't get along with, but other than that it works well.
* As is generally the case, my opinions do not reflect those of my employer.