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Most people
hate to vacuum the house. It is a boring and exhausting chore. Well now
there is a machine that will do the vacuuming for you. It is a robotic vacuum cleaner.
All
you do is place it on the floor, turn it on, and push the clean button
to start it off on its cleaning odyssey. It will go around the room seeking out dirt and dust.
Whether the floors are carpet, hardwood, ceramic, or tile – it does
them all with equal enthusiasm.
It's not a toy or gimmick. Rather, it's part of a new generation of
household equipment that will soon become common. They are products that
can make decisions as to how best to accomplish a task.
Not quite artificial intelligence, but definitely smart
enough to vacuum the rugs for you.
The
preeminent manufacturers of these vacuums are Electrolux* and Roomba*.
Electrolux
The
Electrolux version is probably the most sophisticated one on the market
today. It incorporates
eight ultrasonic sensors and advanced computer reasoning.
Before starting it will sit for fifteen minutes and map out the
objects in the room. It uses sound beams to determine where all the objects
in the room are
located. Once the room is mapped it begins to clean. Its computer
allows it to vacuum without actually touching any objects in the room. When
battery power levels begin to drop it will find its way back to the charger,
recharge itself, and reappear later to finish cleaning. Once the room is clean it goes back
to the charger, turns around, backs into it, and turns itself off. This
robot vacuum has been available in Europe for a few years. It
appears to be the most sophisticated of these machines and comes with a price
tag of $1795.
Roomba
The
robot vacuum cleaner manufactured by Roomba is simpler and much less expensive.
It
uses a bump-and-turn method of operation. Once operational it goes in a
straight until it bumps into something. Each time it encounters an
obstacle it turns and goes off in an alternate direction. If an
unusually dirty area is found the vacuum will circle until it is
satisfied the area is sufficiently clean. This way dusty corners or cookie crumbs get extra attention.
It can deal with many obstacles such as stairs, thresholds, and transitions between different
flooring materials. When it encounters the top of a staircase it will
come right to the edge, stop for a few seconds, make a reverse turn, and
go off in another direction.
It carries a price tag of $249.
Advantages/Disadvantages
The biggest advantage of a robot vacuum is that you vacuum more
often. These little machines will put the shine back into your
carpets.
The
only disadvantages I have found are minor. For instance, the dust
storage bin is small and will need to be emptied every few uses. Also the power brush can
easily become clogged
with small bits of debris. When this happens the brushes must be disassembling
and cleaned. Lastly, there is a small air filter that becomes
blocked and will need to replaced
regularly. Roomba could resolve this problem by using a metal filter
that could be cleaned and reused.
How
to get a man to vacuum
Ladies,
do you know statistics show that 85% of household chores are done by
women. So if you want to get a man to do the vacuuming then consider introducing him to a
robot vacuum cleaner.
How about this for
an interesting idea: Since all men like gadgets, why not get Dad
one for fathers day. That way he won’t have any excuse for not
being involved with the vacuuming. Besides, It will pay him back for the
toaster he got you for your birthday.
* Electrolux is a registered trademarks of AB
Electrolux
* Roomba is a registered
trademark of iRobot
By
Donald Grummett
Copyright ©
2005 Donald
Grummett. All rights reserved
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