Samsung’s New Robot Vacuum Sucks

Samsung’s new Hauzen VC-RE70V might look like a part of a curling kit, but it does its own sweeping. The robot vacuum cleaner goes squarely up against iRobot’s Roomba, with 15 sensors and a set of cameras which it uses to build a map of the world around it. It also remembers where it has been, so it won’t bounce around aimlessly, cleaning the same spot over and over.

The Hoover will be released this month in Korea, but as far as we care, it can stay there. If you can’t hack it , we’re not interested.

Researchers Tweak Roomba to Respond to Emotions

Researchers at the University of Calgary tricked out an iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner to react to signals such as muscle tension and eye movement in a bid to test limited brain-computer interaction between humans and robots.

“As far as we know we are amongst the very first to pursue bioelectric signal interfaces in human-robot interaction, where we program a robot to react to the user’s emotional state rather than just direct control,” says Paul Saulnier, a graduate student at the University. Saulnier presented his findings at the
Human Robot Interaction conference in San Diego earlier this month.

Saulnier’s team used NIA, a gaming peripheral from OCZ that reads bioelectrical signals from gamers and translates it into on-screen actions. For instance, gamers who wear the NIA (neural impulse actuator) headband can use some basic thoughts and eye movements to control a video game.

The team mapped NIA to the Roomba and used indicators such as muscle tension to control robot speed. The more tense a muscle, the greater the indication of stress, which in turn acts a signal for the Roomba to back off. (Read the complete paper)

The idea is to prove that mapping the emotional state of a user to the emotional state of a robot is possible with existing technology, say the researchers.

“People have often asked me about the potential real-world applications of this,” says Saulnier. “The example I like to use is an emotion-sensing robot could that could be used to monitor the health of an elderly relative and react if something is detected of concern.”

While it may be an interesting idea, there are technical challenges currently, says Saulnier. But it is something the team hopes to investigate next.

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/03/researchers-tes/#ixzz0pJrCOlWV

iRobot Presents Roomba Pet And Professional Vacuum Cleaning Robots

iRobot Corp. today introduced the newest additions to its line of vacuum cleaning robots, the iRobot® Roomba® Pet Series Vacuum Cleaning Robot and the iRobot® Roomba® Professional Series Vacuum Cleaning Robot. Engineered and designed with pet owners in mind, the new iRobot Roomba 532 and 562 Pet Series Robots pick up even more pet hair and dander with the help of higher capacity sweeper bins and additional accessories. The new iRobot Roomba 610 Professional Series Robot cleans even the largest of areas, perfect for maintaining office spaces or large high traffic areas.

Help for Hairy Homes

The new Roomba Pet Series Vacuum Cleaning Robots make caring for a home with pets easier. The Pet Series robots come equipped with an extra set of easy to clean brushes, a high capacity sweeper bin for trapping even more pet hair, kitty litter or dander and cleaning tools for ensuring both sets of brushes remain free of debris so they can perform optimally. The sweeper bin holds three-and-a-half times more debris than the vacuum bin, and counter-rotating brushes reach deep into carpets to pull out pet hair and dander. The new iRobot Roomba Pet Series Robots are available immediately in the U.S. and range in price from $349 to $399. Read the rest of this entry »

iRobot Scooba 385 Floor Washing Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Review

iRobot’s award-winning floor washing robot gets floors reliably clean every time. The Scooba 385 cleans up to 80 square meters (3-4 average size rooms) on a single battery charge.

iRobot Scooba navigates through each room using a 4-stage cleaning system to gently and efficiently clean sealed wood, tile and linoleum floors. Scooba preps, washes, scrubs and then squeegees hard floors, cleaning the entire area, under and around furniture and along wall and cabinet edges while automatically avoiding carpets, stairs and drop-offs.

iRobot 500 Series Roomba Vacuum-Cleaning Robot with On-Board Scheduling

Scooba alternates between spiralling, wall following, and room crossing, so on average will pass over the same area of the floor 5 times! To ensure a thorough clean Scooba squeegees up dirty water, debris and germs and can be used with 60 ml of white vinegar per full tank, or just plain tap water to remove up to 96% of common household bacteria in a single pass.

Be sure to follow your floor manufacturers’ cleaning recommendations to avoid damage to floors. Do not use Scooba on unsealed wood, unsealed stone (such as marble), or laminate flooring.

Read the rest of this entry »