Roomba Vacuum Cleaner - Your Friendly Domestic Robot
The Roomba vacuum cleaner was first released in 2002 by iRobot. Since then, over 1.2 million units of this robotic vac machine have been sold, making the product the most successful domestic robot so far.
The first generation Roomba vacuum cleaner was further improved in 2003, the same year that second generation models Roomba Pro and Pro Elite were released. This was followed in 2004 by the Red, Sage, Discovery and Discovery SE models. In 2005, iRobot released the Pink Ribbon Edition, the 2.1 version and the Scheduler. Current models of the vac machine are mostly 2.1 versions that contain hardware and software improvements.
Roomba features a number of accessories including remote control, scheduler, homebase, virtual wall and OSMO. The remote control allows the machine to be controlled remotely while the scheduler programs the robot to clean in pre-specified time. The homebase, also called docking base, is where the machine automatically returns to recharge itself. Virtual wall is the feature that prevents the machine from going to certain areas and OSMO is the doggle attached to the serial port of the product.
This machine from iRobot has a disc appearance measuring 13 inches in diameter and less than four inches in height. The robot is equipped with a contact-sensing bumper mounted on its front half and an infrared sensor at the top front center. It uses internal nickel metal hydride batteries that need to be recharged regularly from a wall plug. Charging the machine takes about three hours.
At the start of 2006, iRobot launched the Roomba Serial Control Interface, allowing third parties to develop accessories for its machines. Some of the products developed for Roomba by third parties include the RooTooth Bluetooth, the RooStick feature which interfaces a PC with the machine using a USB port and MindContro which takes command of the vac by programming an Atmel microcontroller.
The Roomba vacuum cleaner is considered by most as the best model of robotic vac machine around. The product has been consequently improved by iRobot since its launch in 2002. The manufacturer’s partnership with several high technology companies ensures that the product will further improve and more accessories will be developed for this hard-working robot.
