Technology Tid-Bits - Other News: Redesigned iRobot Vacuum
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We have all heard of the robotic vacuum which supposedly will vacuum your floors even while you are not home. When the first iRobot Roomba entered the market about 5 years ago, most people saw it as a novelty. Based upon the sales figures for this line of robotic vacuums, I think it is time to take off the novelty label. In its first five years of existence, the makers of the iRobot Roomba vacuum have sold over 2.5 million units. It must be a decent product to sell that many units in a relatively short period of time.
iRobot is a company which has been around since 1990, and they have only been producing floor cleaning robots for about 5 years now. The company was originally founded by a group of roboticists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There they developed robots which could aid the military and law enforcement in potentially dangerous tasks, such as diffusing and disposing of bombs.
As of this writing, over 1,000 of these tactical robots have been deployed around the world. The company would like to expand on these tactical robots, and that is partly why they have developed two new vacuum models called the Roomba 530 and the Roomba 560. The company hopes to use the revenue generated by these new Roomba models to help finance further research into their tactical robots.
iRobot has already produced robots for the home which will vacuum, wash hard floors, clean the pool, vacuum the workshop, and robots for educators to teach students about robotics. They also have two new robots on the way, but they will not release any information regarding the uses of these new robots.
The Roomba brand vacuum cleaners have come a long way since their introduction five years ago. Back then, this technology was very new, and there were a lot of bugs which still needed to be worked out in these vacuums. iRobot claims that the two new models have all of these bugs worked out.
The new Roomba 530 and 560 supposedly have twice as much vacuum power and are more durable than previous models. These new models have some cool new technology integrated into their relatively small casing which is about 1 foot in diameter and about 3 inches tall. This new technology is supposed to eliminate tangles with things like cords or a bunched up rug, and a new feature which senses when the unit is approaching an object, such as a wall, and slows the unit down so that it does not slam into it.
Colin Angle, CEO at iRobot, says that "this is a robot that is built to survive, do the job, not get stuck." He also claims that the newest Roomba models are rugged enough to be used for about 45 minutes per day, every day, and should last between 4 and 5 years. The manufacturer warranty is for 1 year.
Next: Performance of the Redesigned Roombas >>
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