iRobot's mission to create the "robot home" got a whole lot more fleshed out this afternoon at the company's DigitalLife keynote. The general idea is to get usable tech into any and every home -- not just for the nerds, not like the Jetsons. "A little boring, but fantastically useful robots." Obviously iRobot has been attempting this a while with its Roomba and related lines, but the new ConnectR and Looj bots really flesh out that vision. On the boring end of things, the Looj is a remote-controlled bot that can clean up to 60 feet of gutter in 10 minutes. It rolls through your gutter tank-style and spits out the debris, and then rolls back to you. It's waterproof for easy cleaning, and is available today for $99. The ConnectR takes a whole new angle for iRobot, offering telepresence instead of the usual drudgery removal. You can "virtually visit" friends and family by controlling the WiFi-connected bot remotely, with live video, audio, controls and sensor data. The camera tilts and zooms, and has a zoom mode high resolution enough for reading text. You can transmit your voice through the bot, and control an LED light to convey mood. ConnectR launches next year for $499, and will be available in a pilot program for $199 to select beta-testing users.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lemmiwinks @ Sep 27th 2007 3:16PM
Both pretty good ideas. At $99, the Looj really might take off.
I can see the ConnectR hitting big as a home-monitoring device. Nothing better to keep babysitters, teens, and the like on their toes like a sentry robot. (And if they disable it, you just *know* they're up to somethign. ; )
ethana2 @ Sep 27th 2007 8:30PM
Dad, sorry I killed the firmware... Hey, did you know these thing use code signing? Yeah... I put your soldering iron back, and check it out-- working wireless ALSA!
Oh, /that's/ what it was for. I was kind of wondering what the point was. I'll have to put the servos back then, won't I?
Mike @ Sep 27th 2007 3:23PM
should make for some nice upskirts.
blackfeather @ Sep 27th 2007 3:34PM
That answered my question: How many comments will it take for someone to mention pervcams for this article? Aparently, the answer is 2. (thanks for voicing what we were all thinking...)
JK @ Sep 27th 2007 3:59PM
Am I the only one who thinks both these are incredibly lame?
Looj: Horrible name, no one is going to get the reference. Good price point, but a pointless bot. If I'm going to climb up a ladder to place/retrieve and inevitebly un-stick a bot, I'll just get my hands dirty and save a hundy. Besides, not all houses have great lengths of straight gutter.
ConnectR: Wifi-controlled roomba with a speakerphone/webcam on it. $500. Huh? I see great PR for this if they get a bunch of deployed troops using them to play virtual daddy while they're in the sandbox, but beyond that, I just don't get the point.
Oh, I didn't read the PR
MJK @ Sep 27th 2007 4:06PM
This might actually work out with a little bit more work
I see good use for telecommuting workers. The gentlemen in the article made a telepresence robot (similar to the CR, plus a monitor for bi-directional video feeds) to telecommute across Canada. Teleconferencing, phone calls and the like didn't work out as well as this robot. So there is definately potential. His, however, was a slight bit taller.
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9772377-1.html
I'm seriously thinking about building my own telepresence robot...
JK @ Sep 27th 2007 4:12PM
Yah, I've seen that, and that actually makes sense. The ConnectR, as is, is nothing like that, however.
L. Gordon @ Sep 27th 2007 4:29PM
Can anyone say Short Circuit?
I could see the ConnectR being a big hit with military families.
deedeedee @ Sep 27th 2007 4:30PM
I couldn't help but notice the connectR looks like a red robotic toilet... stupid looking design, with useless function. I would buy the new Lego mindstorm, could probably build something like that and be alot more customizable and also fun to play with, hell lota cheaper too.
telepheedian @ Sep 27th 2007 4:34PM
Did anyone else laugh at the ridiculous press photos they used for the ConnectR?
docjohnboy @ Sep 27th 2007 4:45PM
Those press photos are so depressing.
Scott @ Sep 27th 2007 4:58PM
I actually like the ConnectR idea. While I'm at work during the day, I have my iSight streaming video of my kittens via ustream. I keep the video going on my side monitor all day long, so when my co-workers walk by my cube, they love to check in on what the cats are up to. But when the cats go off camera, everyone always complains that I should have a better way of following their progress than just the one webcam.
I can only imagine the kind of fun we'd have wasting time at the office following the cats around with a robot. Oh, how easily amused Software Engineers can be! :-P
I signed up for the Beta. Seems like I'm matching their target audience (people with pets or children and are into social networking website), so hopefully I get to try one out soon.
ml @ Sep 27th 2007 5:32PM
Press photos showing Dad2008, good luck!
I will buy a ConnectR if it can do zwave or x10 for some home automation or can at least start a PSTN phone call. What exactly are my choices once I see something unfavourable going on in my house ?
alexmueller @ Sep 27th 2007 5:33PM
So I guess by looking at the photos, this means that the iRobot is part of the family, and it also makes a good playmate for your child. So it's more like a 3 in 1 robot.
deedeedee @ Sep 27th 2007 5:38PM
if you are a software engineer you should total check out the Lego mindstorm, and if all you want is to move the camera you can easily build a lego robot that moves to follow the kittens or simply turns the camera, and you can send command to your mac and the mac can communicate with the lego robot via bluetooth. ;)
tmortn @ Sep 27th 2007 8:11PM
I am not sure I get the connectr design.... floor level for telepresence? For general seeing I get it... but not for communication purposes. The Irobot Bases should be fairly heavy... why not do some kind of higher mount for the camera... telescoping pole, or perhaps an articulated boom arm. Through in a small LCD to show you as well.... then I might see it as really working.
Even so I suppose it will have its uses. Be nice to look in on the house while out of town etc... now if it could just fetch the mail...
glenn s @ Sep 27th 2007 10:17PM
I am definitely going to get me a Looj. I think its a great idea. I have to clear out my gutters about 4 times a year, and I HATE it. This thing looks awesome. Now, if they could give it a little garage with a solar panel to charge it, and park it on my roof...
Craig @ Sep 27th 2007 11:21PM
Yeah, but then you'd need a mini-Looj to clean out the tiny little gutters on your Looj garage. And then where would the mini-Look live?
glenn s @ Sep 28th 2007 10:48AM
YES! Hillarious :)
Rick @ Sep 28th 2007 9:04AM
So now you can watch live as the camera slams into the couch because it can no longer fit under low lying peices of furniture? Dropped the ball there in terms fo functional design I think.