Roomba Competitor Slightly Lacking

tivojafa writes "Following hot on the heels of the Roomba vacuum cleaner, TV Products (USA) Inc have released the "RoboSweep" - "The intelligent sweeper that sweeps while you rest!". Roomba by iRobot is an engineering masterpiece with 15 sensors and 5 motors to navigate and clean the floors. It has been stripped apart and there are rumors of a replacement processor so it can be used as a general purpose robot platform. Now the RoboSweep "intelligent" sweeper has redefined intelligence (or lack of it) - the internals have got to be seen to be believed." Very funny.

Please stop building robots!

[Anonymous Coward]

First they're cleaning carpets of dirt, next they'll be cleaning Earth of humans!

High Tech Design

[DrLudicrous]

"After another minute I was so bored that I picked it up to see what it had done... the wipe was completely clean but it was starting to push dirt in front of it. The ground clearance is so low that the dirt can't go under it to reach the wipe!"

Now that's what I call quality engineering. And I love the analog 'processor'!

seems like an easy project

[onya]

One motor.
One battery tray.
One switch.
One power socket.
One LED.
A few wires.

soo... who's going to be the first to get linux running on it?

Simple

[2starr]

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Probably not in this case though. :-P

Nothing New Here

[Synesthesiatic]

I seem to remember having a toy car as a kid that worked much the same way.

There are, however, a few key differences:

RoboSweep is
- more expensive
- slower
- less fun

And with almost no innards, it's not even fun to bash to pieces, Office Space style!

Be very careful when you see that "As Seen On TV!" logo.

man that thing is too funny...

[kendoka]

I wonder if the guy who designed that was a shyster or just an old-timer engineer who actually throught he could replace the ai with a differential...

excellent marketing.

[edrugtrader]

"RoboSweep uses artificial intelligence to sweep your entire floor."

yes. yes it does.

I got one of these

[ocie]

I overclocked it and now it can clean my whole apartment in under 15 seconds. Of course I have to liquid cool it to keep the motors from melting.

Roomba -community-?

[SuperBanana]

Wait a sec...roomba "community"?

I thought the idea was to give you more free time to do fun things. It's pretty sad these people are using that time to sit around in front of the computer and participate in some...pointless...foru...

[marblehead moment]

Ahhhh nuts.

PS:Obligatory slashdotting joke! That community site clogged up faster than a roomba in the wrong part of Dustbunnyville.

Re:The intelligent Robosweep?

[caferace]

You obviously never purchased a Vanna White blow up doll, my friend.

stair test

[gradedcheese]

so I assume the robosweep, if it got to some stairs, would fall down them unlike the roomba which will stop and turn around. That would be pretty funny t watch and seeing how it's built it would probably break apart then too.

Don't insult can openers like that...

[i8a4re]

at least they do what they are designed to do!

Has the world gone deaf?

[Lasuuco Tulkas]

"Automatically cleans your floors while you enjoy life"

This thing would probably make life unbearable with the noise of the vacuum sucking up the dirt on the ground.

Why do I get the idea that I would end up just watching this thing clean my floor instead of enjoying my life. It would seem to me that getting off my lazy bottom and cleaning the floor myself would be a better way to appreciate the fact that I can move around than whatever it is these people think I should be doing.

Also, if this thing takes away all the crumbs and skin that accumulate on the floor - which in turn provide nourishment for a multitude of life - wouldn't this machine be destroying the very life you are trying to enjoy? ;)

Re:Please stop building robots!

[Anonymous Coward]

I, for one, welcome our new vacuum cleaner overlords.

Re:excellent marketing.

[Anonymous Coward]

...if "Artificial Intelligence" means a total lack of anything remotely resembling real intelligence...

As Seen On TV

[Baron_Yam]

I dunno if it's a chain or my local mall is just 'lucky', but we have a store called "As Seen On TV" full of all the crap that by all rights shouldn't sell to anyone with sufficient IQ to navigate from their couch to the mall.

This product doesn't suck.

[merchant_x]

eh..eh?

Precious Roy?

[Wrexen]

Anyone else reminded of the Precious Roy sketches from "Sifl and Olly" ?

Precious Roy, Precious Roy
Making lots of suckers out of girls and boys!

Suckers!

But I wonder....

[Kickstart70]

Are the makers of RoboCrap/Sweep going to sue under the DCMA, claiming that this dude reverse engineered the robot?

Case modding, anyone?

[ps_inkling]

With so much empty space, this device is crying out for accessories. Add a squirt bottle and aquarium pump, and it's an automatic wet floor cleaner (like the Swiffer family). Since it only works on flat surfaces, this could make it useful.

Replacing the NiCad batteries with LiIon would up the run time significantly.

Turning your kitchen floor into a maze of diverters so that it cleans the entire floor (instead of just the edges) would be a worthy weekend project.

A simple IR emitter-detector could cut power to the motor when something is in front of it.

Or, you could put an old i386 motherboard and wireless ethernet inside, and have a firewall and clean floors at the same time.

You could slam it, and have a low-rider cleaner. Wait, they already did that.

Re:You brought it on yourself

[Synithium]

George Forman grill. Bought it off TV way before it was in the stores. And you know what? It still kicks ass like a prize fighter.

Thank you George!

Where's the tea?

[Bullfrog]

All you have to do is program it to say "What?", "I don't understand," and "Where's the tea?" and who'd know the difference?

Has anyone actually used a roomba?

[Guano_Jim]

Just curious... I'd like to hear opinions from people who aren't on Roomba's website.

Before I buy one, I want to know if it will keep up with my two-year old. I envision some kind of evolutionary arms race between my daughter and the Roomba, where the Roomba gets smarter and bigger and my daughter finds new and messier ways to screw up the living room carpet.

Eventually the Roomba will evolve into SkyNet and a former California governor will travel back in time to shoot me.

Re:Please stop building robots!

[Anonymous Coward]

ObReply:

I'd like to remind them that as a trusted Slashdot personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground robotic maintenance centers.

Yes, but does it have FireWire?

[JohnA]

From the offical Roomba FAQ:

Can Roomba's music/ sound be changed or disabled?

Unfortunately, Roomba's music/ sound cannot be modified or disconnected.

Um... does anyone else feel a bit confused, dare I say scared, by a music-playing vacuum cleaner?

Dunno... maybe it's just me.

And In Other News...

[Synesthesiatic]

Shares in As Seen On TV fell $12.37 to $1.12 as investors reacted to a poll showing that every American over the age of 18 has been screwed over at least once by idiotic late-night TV pitches, according to an Ipsos-Reid survey.

Including the investors.

Only 10% of the populace is reported to be stupid enough to purchase off of TV again. Strangely, most of the 10% is made up of Americans with double barreled names, such as Peggy-Anne, Donny-Joe or Birdman-Sue.

Cledus the Slack-Jawed Yokel was not available for comment.

lessons learnt

[holloway]

robots.txt keeps the spiders away

Linux + robot sweeper =

[Anonymous Coward]

No longer do you have to manual sweep your floor, nor do you have to get big and fat for laying on your ass for letting a robot do it.

The Get Your Ass In Gear disto of Linux is for you!

Simple modification of this sweeper robot, adding lcd screen means you need to chase your terminal around the house to check your e-mail, peform daily tasks, and you'll be in shape in no time.

The Future Is Here, not there!

Miracle Blade Knifes!

[Alystair]

We bought a bunch of these Miracle Blade 3 things... damn these suckers are sharp (and stay sharp, great for tough steak/cinderblocks), if you can help me find my left index finger that would help though. Very happy with the set, we even got a second one for free accidently.

1st autonomous vacuum to cross america

[Anonymous Coward]

we sent out 5 of these guys last week.

1st got ran over by an SUV, them sons of bitches
2nd batteries ran out
3rd ran into bad weather
4th one was lost

5th one is still going strong, it things go well we hope it will make it to the end of the block by tomorrow.

holy crap

[SpacePunk]

I had toy cars as a kid that did this. It'd roll untill it hit something then turn and roll again. I had no idea that I was using state of the art artificial intelligence way back then! Wow!

Re:Yes, but does it have FireWire?

[brettper]

Unfortunately, Roomba's music/ sound cannot be modified or disconnected.

Heh. I reckon a few sharp blows with a sharp implement to the speaker should take care of disconnecting the sound

Re:But I wonder....

[Danse]

Are the makers of RoboCrap/Sweep going to sue under the DCMA, claiming that this dude reverse engineered the robot?

That would imply that there was actually some engineering involved in the creation of the RoboSweep. I think that's something they'd be hard-pressed to prove in court.

I have a theory

[Boyceterous]

that if all products like RoboSweep, Tap lights, Thigh Masters, electronic inset repellers, Clappers, Buttoneers, Mr. Microphones, OxyClean, Ginsu Knives, and anything else that's advertized on TV after 2 a.m. were assembled into ONE GIANT MACHINE we would have... either a black hole that only sucks in money or the first device suitable for sanctioning spammers. Spammers mercilessly tortured while you rest! Sound effects optional...Canadians add one dollar!

Re:excellent marketing.

[skaffen42]

Yes. And it uses real stupidity as marketing tool. :)

Re:I'll keep my robovacuum

[MADCOWbeserk]

mine also does dishes(prewash), and disguises itself as a throw rug when not in use. Sometimes, during program misbahavior, it takes out the garbage.

Re:seems like an easy project

[Daetrin]

Wow, amazing the number of people who don't even read the post and realize that you're not talking about the Roomba.

If anyone actually manages to get Linux running on the RoboSweep, the only way they'd be able to one-up themselves is if they got it to run on a broom.

Re:You brought it on yourself

[kuroth]

It's not exactly a new design. Before the "cooks everything" folding grills came along, they were smaller and called "pocket sandwich grills". I have one in my basement that's at least 15 or 20 years old.

Holy crap, what happened to my youth?

*ahem* excuse me.

Anyhoo, someone in marketing finally figured out what many college students already knew: you could cook a hamburger, a steak, or even bacon in one of those little grills. Make it a little bigger, a little hotter, and come up with a better way to get the grease out (previously "pour onto your hands"), and you have a can't-miss product.

And then, you add George Foreman to the mix? Wow, I say. Wow, indeed.

Keep in mind that getting Mr. Foreman's endorsement probably wasn't all that much of a challenge. You're talking about a guy who named all 268 of his sons "George Foreman". Getting him to sign on probably didn't involve any negotiations beyond, "Its name is also George Foreman."

Hey!

[MoeMoe]

That jerk stole my little brothers science project! Even though he only spent 5 minutes on it, he could atleast get a D+, give it back!

Re:Has anyone actually used a roomba?

[NotAnotherReboot]

I recommend buying enough explosives to blow up TEN SUPERCOMPUTERS along with any Roomba, just in case it does decide to kill off your family.

USB

[fredistheking]

I never could order my USB model [thinkgeek.com] from think geek. It has been out of stock for ever. =(

-

Packbot ? Next joke ?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is what our tax dollars go toward.

The Viet Cong would have had them modified to serve
after-dinner drinks in an hour...