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vacuum posts

Samsung's Tango robot vacuum uses cameras to clean your floors, duvet covers

by Tim Stevens posted Nov 5th 2009 at 8:14AM

Just because a Samsung vacbot never cleaned your floors doesn't mean they're not out there somewhere, attacking dust on hardwood and carpet -- and apparently Egyptian cotton too if the above picture is anything to go by. This Tango is the latest from the company, following in the tracks of the Furot and Hauzen and sharing their dual spinny brush design. Tango is said to use a 30fps camera to tell where he's going, a gyro to keep a sense of direction, and crash sensors that now can detect furniture and feet from up to 2cm away. Prices will range from ₩500,000 to ₩700,000 and, though that equates to between $425 and $600 American, the stores these will be available in probably won't take dollars.

Dyson DC25 Blueprint impressions: is the 'Ball' worth it?

by Darren Murph posted Oct 27th 2009 at 10:16AM

Dyson's DC25 Blueprint just started shipping en masse this month, and with an MSRP of $529.99, it's significantly more pricey that the "bargain-minded" DC23 Turbinehead that we had a peek at last month. The company's range of 'Ball' vacuum cleaners have been around for years now, but this is the first chance we've had to roll one over our own carpet. With a striking white finish, impeccable build quality and a design to make any gadget nerd blush, there's quite a bit here that you won't find on your average vac, but is the sphere really enough to warrant the lofty sticker? Read on for our two pennies.

Gallery: Dyson DC25 Blueprint - Limited Edition

Continue reading Dyson DC25 Blueprint impressions: is the 'Ball' worth it?

Dyson DC23 Turbinehead impressions

by Darren Murph posted Sep 28th 2009 at 6:04PM

Dyson. Just the mere mention of the name conjures up a litany of emotions, though we suspect the most common feeling associated with it is "eh, too expensive for a vacuum." For years now, Dyson has managed to make an otherwise drab sector exciting, with its array of vacuums (and hand dryers, to be fair) being amongst the only ones out there that gadget nerds could actually get into. The eldritch designs, promises of never-ending suction and stratospherically high price tags have helped Dyson garner an almost cult-like following, but at long last, it seems the outfit is looking to slide into homes of the somewhat less affluent. Granted, $399 for a vac ain't exactly cheap, but considering that the DC23 Turbinehead is the outfit's cheapest canister ever, we couldn't help but give it a spin. Head on past the break for a few impressions.

Gallery: Dyson DC23 Turbinehead unboxing

Continue reading Dyson DC23 Turbinehead impressions

Samsung's Furot II robovac wants a piece of your Roomba

by Darren Murph posted Sep 15th 2009 at 6:09PM

Roomba not sucking the way it used to? Samsung sure hopes not, as it has just recently pushed out a robotic vacuum cleaner of its very own. Quietly showcased during IFA earlier this month, the Furot II packs an oh-so-familiar design and sports an integrated camera and mapping system that enables it to find its way, remember its course and clean your floors with practically no human assistance. There's also an array of sensors that keep it from slamming into this and that, and the rechargeable battery keeps it humming for around 1.5 hours before petering out and making a beeline for its charging station. We get the impression that it'll be available in both black and refulgent red, though no price and release date is currently available.

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

Video: SCRATCHbot hunts like a rat for those trapped like one

by Vladislav Savov posted Jul 1st 2009 at 8:40AM

Designed for search and rescue missions - which, let's face it, are only ever one loose word away from "search and destroy" - the SCRATCHbot uses its whiskers to detect disaster survivors in inhospitable or dangerous areas. The Bristol Robotics Laboratory developed the rat-inspired people searcher over the past 6 years and now hopes to find interest for it in underground and underwater projects where vision may be impaired. Far less heroic uses are also being contemplated, such as textile inspection and implementation inside intelligent vacuum cleaners that would be able to adjust their cleaning to the particular surface they sense. Video of the new bot coming to life is after the break.

Continue reading Video: SCRATCHbot hunts like a rat for those trapped like one

Dyson speeds up 'world's fastest motor,' gives it some fancy packaging

by Vladislav Savov posted Jun 29th 2009 at 5:34PM

Sir James Dyson is on a mission to tick as many boxes as possible with the hetero male demographic. He starts out well, bolting the "world's fastest motor" to a gun-shaped instrument of cleanliness. The product pages advertise 10 minutes of "high constant suction," and the top model is named the Animal, but the fact is it's still a vacuum cleaner. The motor is a direct descendant of the one found in the Airblade, with rotational speed jumping from 88K to 104K RPM. Dyson has said he hopes to harness the technology in other devices, including electric cars, giving credence to previously discredited rumors to that effect. Beyond the read link you will find a picture of the tiny speed demon in the loving hands of its inventor.

[Via Tech Digest]

Patent app shows Roombas pooping on potties, being big boys

by Tim Stevens posted Jun 1st 2009 at 11:22AM

Roomba vacuums tend to be pretty self-sufficient, cleaning floors, committing burglaries, and even making futile attempts at communication. Cleaning themselves, however, is something they cannot do, but that may change if a recently unearthed 2007 patent application filed by iRobot ever results in an actual product. The app shows a variety of designs for docks that would either suck the detritus right out of your little guy or replace its dirt cartridge altogether, strip any wound-up hair from its brushes, and then send it back on its way to give your cat a lift to is litter box. No word on whether iRobot has something based on these designs anywhere near production-ready, but we wouldn't recommend giving away that robot changing table.

iRobot's new Roomba patent could clean those hard to reach areas, get stuck there

by Joseph L. Flatley posted May 26th 2009 at 5:47PM

When most kids our age were cutting class to play Mike Tyson's Punch Out, the latch key kids over at Robot Stock News were taking apart their step father's vacuum. And as we grew up, all the while developing relationships with cellphone tipsters and eventually becoming successful tech bloggers in our own right, the Robot Stock News kids were also able to take their obsessive geek tendencies and make a name for themselves -- combing the interwebs, paying off high priced vacuum ninjas, and scouring the US Patent database for any and all news featuring many of our country's leading autonomous vacuum cleaners. They must have been really stoked to stumble upon a patent filed in November 2008, entitled "Compact Autonomous Coverage Robot." As far as we can tell, this document (filed by iRobot) details a Roomba with a squared off front, designed to hit those hard to reach corners that the traditional circular device cannot. This design change, while it seems minor, actually lends a level of complexity to the device: a square robot requires more complex programming, lest it get stuck in a niche that its round faced predecessor could never reach in the first place. Of course, there's no telling when (or if) this one will see the light of day, but you'll know as soon as we do. Promise.

[Via Robot Stock News]

Korean carrier KTF launches mobile phone-controlled vacuum cleaner

by Laura June posted Apr 8th 2009 at 5:12PM

South Korean telecom firm KTF has just announced a cleaning robot which can be controlled by a 3G cellphone. The robot -- called the CW100 -- was built in collaboration with Microbot, and is a "smart" vacuum (much like a Roomba). The CW100 uses an onboard video camera to send live images of what it's "seeing" to the mobile phone, and the user can then remotely control it using the keypad. The bot will be sold for KRW 500,000 (about $370) in conjunction with a data plan that runs KRW 5,000 (about $3.70) per month. Sounds pretty affordable and awesome to us -- as long as it doesn't run over the family cat. Check out another photo after the break.

[Via Unwired View]

Continue reading Korean carrier KTF launches mobile phone-controlled vacuum cleaner

World's most expensive vacuum also claims title of world's gaudiest

by Donald Melanson posted Mar 17th 2009 at 9:39PM

You may think that the world's most expensive vacuum would be a Dyson or some other high-tech cleaning contraption, but that's apparently not the case, at least according to the vacuum authority that is the Guinness Book of World Records. No, the world's most expensive vacuum is apparently this otherwise ordinary Electrolux, which has been adorned with 3,730 Swarovski crystals by Polish designer Lukaz Jemiol and now commands the princely sum of £13,825 (or just under $20,000). That may not help the vacuum's cleaning ability much, but it'll certainly help it hold its own against all the other Swarovski-encrusted products out there, which, last we checked, includes everything imaginable. Better act quick if you're looking to add to the collection though, as this one is strictly one of a kind.

Keepin' it real fake, part CLXXVIII: Canon doesn't suck edition

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 3rd 2009 at 5:51AM

You know what Canon doesn't make? Right, Vacuum cleaners. Obvious to us but according to the site English Russian, a large Russian electronics supplier recently bought what they believed to be genuine Canon-made Vacuum cleaners. Why not, after all, that logo slapped all over the manuals and device is a straight rip from the Japanese company. The KIRF-co even has the audacity to host a Russian site registered to Gold Space Inc. at www.canon-electonics.com (the official Canon Electronics site is canon-elec.co.jp) which, ambient music aside, is nothing but a portal into an empty consumer abyss. A call to the company's New York support number results in an "invalid number" recording. Surpising.

Renegade Roomba trips home alarm, cops underwhelmed upon arrival

by Darren Murph posted Dec 9th 2008 at 8:21AM

Note to Roomba owners -- shut that bad boy off before leaving the house and arming the alarm system. In what we can only imagine was a pretty comical scene, a runaway Roomba in a Denmark home tripped the motion sensors after it acted on its itch to suck up a few pints of dust and debris while its owners were out on the town. Once the alarm was tripped, authorities were automatically phoned in to see what kind of shenanigans were going on. Needless to say, it proved difficult to charge the innocent looking autovac with breaking and entering, but we hear it has been tagged and given a parole officer just in case it tries to cut loose in the future.

[Thanks, morten]

Wii Balance Board used to control Roomba... for reasons unknown

by Darren Murph posted Aug 26th 2008 at 8:02AM

For Roomba hacking extraordinaire longjie0723, it's just another day in the office. Grasping for one more way to control the circular vacuum with something video game-related, he keyed in on the Wii Balance Board. Granted, he's already had success controlling the Roomba with a Wiimote, so we assume that whipping this one up was a lesson in simplicity. We still can't really understand why this here hack is necessary, but unlike decisions made by publicly traded companies, independent DIYers don't need no logic to get their mod on. Video after the cut.

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Continue reading Wii Balance Board used to control Roomba... for reasons unknown

Pac-Man Roomba created with 448 LEDs

by Darren Murph posted Jun 5th 2008 at 6:31AM

We were beginning to wonder if the Roomba hacking community had been sucked dry of ideas, but leave it to longjie0723 to give us hope yet. This Roomba hacker (yeah, he also rigged his up for Wiimote control) managed to solder 448 yellow LEDs onto a board and program said devices to move in such a way that a Pac-Man-type image is seen. C'mon, who hasn't dreamed of having that ghost-inhaler work his magic on those forsaken floors? Check the video after the jump.

[Via Hack N Mod]

Continue reading Pac-Man Roomba created with 448 LEDs

Samsung's Hauzen Cleaning Robot keeps floors, homeowners happy

by Darren Murph posted Mar 20th 2008 at 9:02AM

Samsung's no stranger to automated floor sucking creatures, but the latest from the outfit is looking to give your Roomba a real run for its money. The Hauzen VC-RE70V sports a fairly attractive shell along with a built-in camera to "see" where it's going; better still, it can reportedly snap pictures of rooms as it goes in order to build a map of your domicile in its "brain" and keep things quick on subsequent cleanings. Just like your Automower, this thing will also automatically move to its recharging station when it feels weak, giving you one less reason to even roll out of bed the day the in-laws are set to arrive.

[Via I4U News]