Round Robot for a Square Corner?

Humanoido

A visit to the appliance store showed those newest square ended vacuum robots to fit the actual square corners.
http://www.azorobotics.com/News.aspx?newsID=1747

Just curious. Why did it take 11 years to figure this out? A round Roomba was introduced in 2002 and that brand is still round today.

erco

Mere speculation:
1) Roombas don't map, they spiral out then edge follow and random. More backtracking means more turning to maneuver. Circular jams less when turning.
2) No one walks in the very corner, that carpet stays pretty clean.
3) Colin Angle of iRobot told me that mapping doesn't increase cleaning efficiency enough to warrant the complexity. In fact, simplicity is what their target audience is after. Their market research tests showed that the fewer buttons and controls people see, the more they like it.

Mind you, their target audience ain't yer average Forumista...

Humanoido

Mapping, schmapping. It's all about keeping the room clean. Apparently their target audience are not people that want to keep all parts of their rooms clean. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that dust bunnies, and their evil contents, like to collect and hold out in room corners. In Asia, there is generally no carpet in the room, and dust collects in all places and is highly visible - and the vacuum needs to cover all parts of the floor including the corners. You would be surprised at what lives in the corners, inside the carpet or dust , of your room. I'm glad to see the square ended new vacuums and look forward to buying one.


If the floor corners are kept dusty, home inhabitants have a good chance of
breathing in and coming into direct contact with these disease carrying dust
mites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_dust_mite House dust mites are a common cause of asthma and allergic symptoms worldwide. The mite's gut contains potent digestive enzymes (notably proteases) that persist in their feces and are major inducers of allergic reactions such as wheezing. The mite's exoskeleton can also contribute to allergic reactions.



Can you imagine enough of these mites crawling into solderless breadboard holes to clog up your next project? When you push in the wire, it will squish their acid guts all over the electrical springs and eat away the contact surfaces with horrible corrosion.



The body of a house dust mite is just visible against a dark background in normal light. A typical house dust mite measures 0.4 millimetres (0.016 in) in length and 0.25–0.32 millimetre (0.010–0.013 in) in width.^[1] Like all acari, house dust mites have eight legs (except the first instar, which has six). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_dust_mite


The face of a coingenial dust mite

NWCCTV

Why did it take 11 years to figure this out?

It didn't. They had it planned that way from the begining. Great way to market "New and Improved" versions!!!!!