Time-hungry, device-crazed folks have taken another step toward the “Jetstones” cartoon version of house cleaning with a new generation of robotic vacuum cleaners. Insert a pair of AA or D batteries. Select “go.” The little round disk R2D2 as a robot never complains. Instead, as you head back to the couch to continue watching a movie or game, your vacuum “rolls up its microprocessor” and settles down to the task of cleaning your rooms.
Where Robot Vacuum Cleaners Come From – Technological Origins of Star Wars. Robotic vacuum cleaners like iRobot roomba did not enter the stage of consumer market devices without some previous technologies. No gadget enthusiast will be surprised to learn that the first vacuum cleaners of the modern era are modifications of a core technology of “artificially intelligent” mobile work machines used by NASA in extraterrestrial exploration. Fully programmable industrial production robots handle welding, assembly, woodworking and a wide range of process functions. Also think about pool vacuums, which are now becoming the latest suburban convenience craze. So it’s no surprise that microprocessors need to be redirected from the PC world and the manufacturing world to the home.
“One small step for robots… One giant leap for ultra-civilized humanity.” From sampling and collecting rocks on Mars, robots have morphed into programmable house-cleaning tools that rival conventional vacuum cleaners in performance…minus the time savings of removing the human factor. “One small step for robots…one giant leap for humanity” could be the commercial logo for the new generation of maximum comfort devices for the home.
How effective is your robot vacuum cleaner? Robot vacuum technologists use the bag of tricks from their complete programming kit to create a feature-rich cleaning tool. Starting with a device like the Roomba? Easy stuff. For setup, most vacuums only require you to remove large loose items from the floor or carpets…such as papers, fabrics, cords, or anything that could be sucked up and give the vacuum “indigestion”…such as a normal vacuum cleaner. Kitchen tiles, hardwood floors, carpets, even concrete surfaces.
Hair, dirt, pet hair and dander, food…anything normal that gets on your floors can be handled by your vacuum.
Remote Sensing And Bump-Grind. Your vacuum literally bumps its way through your rooms… sensing objects… tapping each object like a chair leg, then keeps spinning and moving.
With some robotic vacuums, you can preset a “virtual” wall… by programming a stop point into your robot so that it literally stops in an instant. Simplicity is the key to using robot vacuum cleaners. Calculate the size of your room… then select small, medium or large on the control panel. Place your iRobot in the middle of the room, then walk away. The rest, as they say, is history.
Batteries and recharge. Simplicity rules with robot cleaners like the roomba robot vacuum cleaner or other models. When your robot isn’t cleaning for you, it can rest its tiny 6-pound body on a counter or elsewhere and receive an 11- to 15-hour meal of electrons from any household outlet to recharge the room’s cleaning capacity. .
Fully charged, a typical robot vacuum will last 1 hour or more.
peel off Like their human inventors, the best vacuum cleaners occasionally find themselves literally “stuck”… a strange combination of object-space relationships where knock-pull fails to extract their robot… or perhaps stuffed with a towel or a set of smelly socks forgotten under the chair… Solution? Most vacuum models initially send a higher pitched “I’m stuck” tone. If you don’t hear your cry for help, your robot has a built-in auto-off feature. Situation handled without fuss or drama.
Stair Management. Vacuuming stairs in the best conditions is a bummer! Built-in sensors tell your robot vacuum “stairs… watch out… stop… don’t go ahead! Result? Situation is ‘recognized’. No harm done. do your stairs.
Convenience tool for the less capable. People who are injured or significantly limited will reap huge benefits from the new era of vacuum cleaners. Light, smart, easy to program, robots pose little physical risk and allow less-skilled people to keep their home clean and get on with their daily chore responsibilities without the need for others.