New Electrolux Trilobite 2.0 Vacuum Robot

i4u writes "The first version of the Electrolux expensive vacuum robot was launched last May. Electrolux announced the new metallic green Trilobite 2.0 on their Swedish site. The Electrolux Trilobite 2.0 is programmable like a VCR, it also recognises stairs and offers smarter cleaning. Electrolux has carried out 200 improvements. Photos on I4U." And at this rate, perhaps MkIII will be out next spring.

Comments

Hoovy aka Trilobite java applet

[uss_valiant]

Wanna play Trilobite yourself?
This was my first (and last) Java Applet. JRE 1.4.1 required: Have fun :)
Well, I didn't elaborate the applet as far as I wanted, but it was fun learning Java/GUI programming and fundamentals of path finding (A*) at the same time.

Typo in headline

[Mmm_pickles]

It's, "Electrolux," not "Elextrolux."

Re:Typo in headline

[Mmm_pickles]

No, it's just a typo. :)

Programmable like a VCR

[Timesprout]

They wasted their time then. There are only 6 people in the world capable of programming it to do what they want.

Re:Programmable like a VCR

[DrEldarion]

I can imagine all the pissed off people when their vaccuums start going at 12 midnight each day.

Programmable like a VCR

[Roland Piquepaille]

the Electrolux Trilobite 2.0 is programmable like a VCR

Does it mean I'll have to fiddle with a 8 x 7-segment green display, a bunch of buttons and knobs, and a manual written in engrish?

Roomba Army

[challahc]

Unless Amazon's Trilobite Price-tag of $1,799.99 is a typo (which it is not), why is this robot 10 times more expensive than the Roomba ($159.99) ?

I think I would just buy 10 Roombas. Then I would have the added benefit of racing/fighting them.

Re:Roomba Army

[Eros]

For that price it better suck something other than carpet.

Re:Roomba Army

[lakeland]

Er, because robot is useful and the roomba sucks. And I don't mean that in a good way ;-)

The Roomba just goes around in increasing circles and copes really badly with anything like furniture. (Excercise: See if you can work out its algorithm; hint: It doesn't need any internal state ala Brooks). Unless your room is approximately square or circular with gaps around the furniture, you can forget about it. Roomba needs far too much supervision, you (almost) may as well do the job yourself.

More useful are robots which can be programmed with a map. These can cope with pretty much any room, but you better not move your desk without telling them or the poor robot will get confused and go sulk in a corner.

Far more useful are the robots which build a map of their environment as they go because they can be turned on and left. I believe this robot fits into that category (though it isn't the first).

Forget for a moment you doing the vacuuming at home (or your mum doing it ;-) and instead consider a large office which currently employs cleaners to come in and clean/vacuum every day. How much do you think this costs? Say they spend one hour vacuuming per floor, at perhaps $10/hr, a five floor office costs $50/day. And note that while they may be paid only $10 or less per hour, the cleaning company almost certainly charges them out at more (profit + wear and tear on machinery + uniform + admin). The robot at $1800 will take about a month to pay for itself -- suddenly the price sounds reasonable, no? Of course, the building still needs cleaners for other tasks, but if just the vacuuming was taking an hour... Certain local politicians forgot that here with 'self cleaning' toilets, but I digress...

As to your idea of fighting roombas. Remember that algorithm I got you to work out at the start? It ain't going to make very good fights, is it?

What's so good about it?

[PhrostyMcByte]

After looking it seems the only differences from the Roomba is ultrasonic sight instead of bumpers, and a price tag an order of magnitude higher (Roomba == $160, Trilobite 2.0 == $1800).

I guess the sonic thing is a more geekish way to go about things, but is it really more effective than bumpers? Is it worth the massive price tag?

Re:What's so good about it?

[aberkvam]

The I4U article points out another difference. "The Trilobite can recharge itself. The robot finds its way back to the charging station and automatically docks-on." That takes care of something that always bothered me about the Roomba but it's not $1640 worth of cool...

Re:What's so good about it?

[bhtooefr]

You're also paying for the Electrolux name with the Trilobite - they make some high-end vaccums, you know...

Robots are cool and all but

[Timesprout]

1800 US is a big whack of change to pay for a vacuum cleaner. I dont mind vacuuming and it only takes 10 mins to do the house so I think I will stick with the manual version for the time being.

First self-propelled vacuum?

[thparker]

The headline on the site reads "First self-propelled vacuum now in stores." I've had my Roomba for about a year, and it had already been around for awhile.

I'm always put off by products where the first promo description I read is totally untrue.

a problem

[mrsev]

How the hell does it know what to hoover up and what not to?
I mean I a messy person and a bit lazy so this would be ideal for me. BUT if it is going to suck up all my money and keys and socks (that I store on the floor) then that would "suck"!

Re:a problem

[canavan]

Maybe you should invest in a closet, probably something with drawers (and actually use it!) before forking over 2 grand for a vacuum cleaner. But seriously, the manual for the old, red trilobite explicitly warned the user not to leave stuff they had rather not sucked up on the ground.

How the hell are these vacuumbots actually robots?

[JessLeah]

OK. So they move independently. Is that all that's necessary for a "robot"? So, like, if I rigged up a remote control car to drive mindlessly back and forth, back and forth all day, is it now a "robot"?

Where is the dividing line between "automatic mechanized device" and "robot"?

Re:How the hell are these vacuumbots actually robo

[PhrostyMcByte]

Well, this is in the dictionary:

robot, n: a mechanism that can move automatically.

So I guess there is no line ;)

From the Nova School of Car Naming

[Tablizer]

I don't think it is wise to name a product after an extinct critter. Would you buy a PC called the "Dinosaur 99"?

It would be brilliant

[slyxter]

I would love to see one of these crossed with one of those lawnmower robots. It could vaccum your house, then go outside to mow the lawn. Maybe it could sit by your front door at night and bark menacingly like a hungry pitbull when it's built-in motion sensor was tripped. Then I would buy one.
And if it could fetch a beer from the fridge... I would buy two.

Re:Next on Slashdot

[Tablizer]

How to mod your Vacuum bot into a fellatio-bot. Electrolux sales at an all time high.

Is this the proper place to tell of my romantic attachment to our pool filter?

Re:This just in!

[starworks5]

but what i wonder is, with all these robots working, wont it get to the point where its less cost effective for us to commute to work (even working for pennies), than to have a robot do it.

now assuming that the robots dont become sentient(very likely). What sort of economics model would possibly work to justify our existance. no work for humans, no money, no food...... am i right?

im suspecting
1. corperations & ceo's will own and control everything, because they are the only ones producing anything.
2. people will probably be paid not to work(just as they are now)
3. either A. we have bliss on work because nobody will work and everything will be free B. (more likely) overpopulation, and we enter a middle ages type monarchy. where your position in society wont be based on how smart you are (computers will be smarter), what or how much you can produce (self replicating robots will be cheaper). but rather it will be based on who you know, your sexual attractiveness, the purity of your genes.

or perhaps im just being a cynic

yea but it aint no Kerby

[Brigadier]

I bought an electrolux perhaps 6 years ago, it still works liek brand new today. My aunt however has bought about 5 vacumes varying from hoover, to the wind tunnel thing paying an average of $200 a pop. I'm not saying this is the reason it costs so much but those things are built like world war two battle ships.

It is a autonomous robot.

[rebelcool]

btw, im a researcher in an intelligent robotics lab...

The trilobyte is probably the closest thing to the autonomous research robots I work with, thats really aimed at the consumer (albeit, the wealthy consumer...). From my understanding, trilobyte uses sonars for navigation and has internal mapping and localization. Those are necessary for it to find its charger base automatically, but it also can make cleaning faster and more efficient than say, roomba's spiralling and wall following algorithms.

Its kind of high priced, but not too bad considering the amount of research that localization and mapping has had over the years, and the hardware requirements to support it. Sonars are tricky devices to use and require quite a bit of computation to do accurate mapping with.

floors?

[DoctorDeath]

but it doesn't do windows...

Here you go.

[Dan Crash]

Meet RoboMop.

One critical missing feature

[chrysalis]

This robot is funny, but it lacks a critical feature : the ability to use it... as a normal vaccum.

AFAIK there is no way to plug a pipe and a brush onto it in order to manually vacuum.

So this robot can vacuum the floor, but nothing else. You need a second vacuum for the rest.

Re:One critical missing feature

[Dun Malg]

This robot is funny, but it lacks a critical feature : the ability to use it... as a normal vaccum. AFAIK there is no way to plug a pipe and a brush onto it in order to manually vacuum. So this robot can vacuum the floor, but nothing else. You need a second vacuum for the rest.

You make a very important point. They've stuck themselves into an awkward position. The Trilobite is too expensive to market as an additional vacuum cleaner, but its feature set is too limited to actually be a vacuum replacement. The Roomba is aimed at an actual defined market niche: it's an inexpensive automated floor sweeper/vacuum intended for periodic use between regular vacuumings.

Re:This just in!

[QangMartoq]

In regards to (non-sentient) robots taking over all our menial duties, to the point of economic collapse, here's some interesting further reading..

Manna, Chapter 1

Here's a teaser from the story..

"Depending on how you want to think about it, it was funny or inevitable or symbolic that the robotic takeover did not start at MIT, NASA, Microsoft or Ford. It started at a Burger-G restaurant in Cary, NC on May 17, 2010. It seemed like such a simple thing at the time, but May 17 marked a pivotal moment in human history."

Stockholm museum display of this robot

[bit01]

If you're in Stockholm and interested in the construction of the this robot check out the Swedish Technical Museum (No English web page). 6 months ago it had a room sized display with English description showing how the vacuum cleaner was designed and built. There was also a very cool display on robots in general with dozens of different working robots and hundreds of toys. A fun museum for geeks.

---

It's wrong that an intellectual property creator should not be rewarded for their work.
It's equally wrong that an IP creator should be rewarded too many times for the one piece of work, for exactly the same reasons.
Reform IP law and stop the M$/RIAA abuse.

a feature

[apankrat]

If it is going to suck up all my money and keys...

At least you'll know where to find them.