Roomba

Over at CNET News.com sister site TechRepublic, members raved about the iRobot Roomba's intelligent floor-cleaning prowess and expressed an interest in seeing one of these innovative gadgets cracked open. So Scott Wolf cracked open a Roomba purchased just for this purpose and learned a few things about how the device works.

See the photos of inside the iRobot Roomba

iRobot will miss its third-quarter earnings goal, but overall 2007 financial expectations remain on track, the company said Wednesday.

The company expects to announce revenue of between $63 million and $64 million, resulting in a pretax loss of $1 million to $1.5 million in the third quarter, CEO Colin Angle said in a statement.

Part of the blame for the disappointing quarter was placed on delayed production of iRobot's new Roomba 500 vacuum series.

"... the production ramp up by our new contract manufacturer was slower than our initial targeted projections and consequently, revenue from delayed shipments will … Read more

We've got a tremendous show for you today, featuring a mall storage room converted into an apartment, using an iPod to whiten your teeth, a look at some controversial new high-tech NYC cabs, a study looking to see how much Roomba owners love their vacs, and keeping clutzes from yanking their cords. Check out today's episode of the Queue.

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Show Notes:

Mall-partment[Via Boing Boing]

Rock my teeth[Via Apple.ars]

Roomba study

RePlug [Via Geekologie]

Contact us:

TheQueue[… Read more

A Georgia Tech researcher has concluded that you're more likely to forgive your cleaning robot's shortcomings once you bond with it, according to The Associated Press.

Eww.

OK, I'll admit I enjoy watching our iRobot Scooba (purchased it) and Roomba (trying it out after my colleague Michael Kanellos reviewed it). The admonition often comes to my mind that it's only a time saver if you don't watch it while it works.

But I don't want to buy the Roomba little outfits. Or follow the lead of the majority of 30 committed Roomba users that … Read more

Robotics company iRobot has announced two new versions of its robot vacuum cleaner, the Roomba. Upgrades include a larger dustbin, the ability to suck up larger objects (like pennies; dog food; and, on occasion, a rat), a "lighthouse" system that controls movement from room to room (in the 560 model), more graceful transitions from hard floors to carpet, and a system that prevents the Roomba from sucking up rug tassles or stray cords.

Household pets will be glad to hear that iRobot has eased up on the force with which Roombas bash into objects. Sensors alert the Roomba … Read more

It swallowed a pit from a plum.

And over the course of three test drives through our house, the Roomba 560, the new top-of-the-line Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner cleaner from Burlington, Mass.-based iRobot, also gobbled up three rubber bands, two stray edamame, seven coins, a couple of beads and a grapefruit-size wad of pet hair.

And that was just what I found in the dust bin. An additional chamber that captures fine particles and sits next to the air filter captured a disc of dust that would cover a butter dish. The house was dirtied on purpose for this … Read more

While Asahi's beer-pouring Robocco BeerBot debuted last year, it has been a difficult item to track down--especially in the States. Online retailer CScout has come to the rescue and is now selling "slightly used" Robocco BeerBots for $799 (plus $94 shipping). While it's a bargain compared to the $1,500 Beer-Launching Fridge, $900 is still a healthy chunk of change for an adorable can opener. To be fair, you'll also receive two custom glass mugs and a plastic floor protector (those Colt 45 tallboys might get messy).

I feel compelled to mention that this is … Read more

Teenagers, persuade your parents to buy this lawnmower and you can get your weekend afternoons back. The LawnBott seems to have some competition.

The Auto Mower from Husqvarna eliminates noise, hassle and is environmentally more friendly than your average gas-powered lawnmower.

It works similarly to the Roomba robot vacuum in that it self-charges at a docking station, navigates on its own and can be set to run on schedule. You shallowly bury a boundary wire around the general perimeter of your lawn and any gardens to let the machine know its limits. It can handle inclines, rain and simply reverses … Read more

iRobot pretty much has both ends of the robot spectrum covered: cute, household cleaning robots and industrial-strength military robots. Monday's announcement that iRobot and Boeing will team up on a military/civilian/commercial robot falls somewhere in the middle.

The Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle, nicknamed SUGV Early, will weigh less than 30 pounds. That's smaller than iRobot's line of robots currently in use in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts to search buildings, caves and tunnels and disarm Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

The SUGV Early will perform reconaissance and gather intelligence while operators stand out of harm's … Read more