iRobot, the manufacturers of the Roomba intelligent robotic vaccum cleaner have launched a new model which addresses many of the critisisms of the previous generation of robotic vaccum cleaners.
The new machine has a “Home Base” which is the cleaner’s charging station which it heads for automatically when it requires charged or is finished its cleaning chores.
Also added is a dust bin that’s three times larger than the original models which many users will be glad to hear. There is also an “intensive ceaning dirt sensor” which presumably detects particularly dirty areas and attempts to clean them a bit better.
Interestingly the Roomba Discovery has a retail price of $250 in the US (currently it is unavailable in Europe but no doubt someone will pick it up for import) which is considerably less than the Electrolux Trilobite that commands the best part of £1000 for similar features.
It looks as if robotic devices are here to stay and seem to be entering into a second generation of machines.