iRobot's Roomba Pet torments the dog, sweeps away dander
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Sep 3rd 2008 6:50AM
posted Sep 3rd 2008 6:50AM
iRobot just announced its new Roomba Pet robotic vacuum cleaners. Boasting the core tech found in the 530 and 560 series of vacuums, the Roomba 532 ($349) and more advanced 562 ($399, includes on-board scheduling) Pet series feature higher capacity sweeper bins; counter-rotating, carpet-digging brushes; and additional accessories to keep those brushes hair and dander free. We hear it's pretty good at herding the kids too. Available now.
This thing (the Electrolux one) fell from my wooden staircase once, and it's the first time I noticed that this thing don't know how to go downstairs properly...
Mine got out the catflap and never came back; i think a neighbour took it in and now it's forgotten all about me.........selfish bastard.
Photoshop.
Imagine the potential of this fellow when upgraded with some creative homebrew firmware:
- A self-moving serving tray… that way your girlfriend doesn't have to leave the kitchen during the game (or boyfriend, for political correctness).
- An indoor segway…
- A battle bot (after adding some extra hardware: an axe or something)…
- A leafblower for your driveway (would require reversing the polarity on the suction motor)…
Any other creative ideas?
There is a fairly large community of people that are modifying the Roomba to do all sorts of cool things.
There is lot's of good info in this forum:
http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewforum.php?f=4
Bastages! No-way i'm spending all that cash on a second roomba....
Robopuppy mistreatment alert! ROBOPUPPY MISTREATMENT ALERT!!
I need this for Free Roam time with my two adorable guinea piggies!
I wonder if my dog would run away from this, she hates vacuums.
I wish I had waited to get my 580 so I could get the 562. With a cat and a dog, the thing is full of hair very quickly. Blah.
They ought to give it spots or something since its the "Pet" edition.
Do these things really work? I've got tons of pet hair.
It might not work on you, but I hear it cleans carpets & floors well enough
We have 3 dogs, a golden, GSD, and a Lab Mix, they generate a TON of hair. We have a roomba 560 (non-pet) we schedule it every day and it does make a noticeable difference. We only do a full vacuum of the carpets once a month.