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Japan has delayed the Fukushima nuclear plant cleanup again
There's been another delay in the plan to clean up the Fukushima nuclear plant. The Japan Times reported today that the country's government approved another revision to the cleanup schedule that will push removal of radioactive fuel rods from reactor Units 1 and 2 three years further down the road. This latest delay, which is due to newly uncovered damage in the storage pools, means that the cleanup is now six years behind schedule.
IRL: iRobot Roomba 700
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. We're not sure how long it takes for someone to become an honorary Tokyoite, but whatever the answer, it's clear Mat Smith is still fairly green. After two years as an Engadget editor based in London, Mat moved to Japan last summer to run our coverage there. And run it he does. But can he call himself a transplant? Probably not yet. But adopting a robot was a good first step.
Takara Tomy's Auto Mee S robot scrubs mobile devices, saves seconds of effort
We can't say that we've ever been so exhausted or pressed for time that we couldn't wipe down our mobile device screens. There must be someone out there for whom that's one scrub too far, however, as Takara Tomy has just rolled out its Auto Mee S robot to do the job. Plunk the tiny cleaner down and it should bring a shine to a typical smartphone within four minutes, and a tablet within eight. It's smart enough to detect the device's edge while needing only a single AA battery to work for three hours. Yes, the Auto Mee S is really more of a toy than a serious substitute for a lint-free cloth, although the mix of novelty and utility may still justify a purchase of the ¥1,575 ($17) gadget if you're in Japan after the March 28th release -- just think of it as Junior's First Roomba.
Polaris' pool-cleaning robots get updated with added intelligence, four-wheel drive
It's been almost exactly a year since Zodiac Pool Systems last expanded its line of Polaris-branded pool-cleaning robots, and it's now back with two more additions that fill out the top and bottom end of its lineup. That includes the company's most advanced robot to date, the $1499 Polaris 9400 Sport (pictured above), which adds four-wheel drive for the first time, as well as the company's new accelerometer-enhanced ActivMotion Sensor technology -- something Polaris says allows the robot to continually sense where it is in the pool and optimize its cleaning action accordingly. The 9100 Sport, on the other hand, gets neither of those new additions, but it'll "only" set you back $799, and will still clean pools up to 40 feet long in about two hours. You can get a closer look at those, as well as the company's existing offerings, at the source link below.
LG Hom-Bot 2.0 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner hands-on (video)
Smile, you're on Vacucam! LG's Hom-Bot (RoboKing in the US) was zipping around its own special playpen on the stage at the company's IFA booth today, picking up the occasional speck of dust and using its dual cams to spy on bloggers and Germans, while also diligently avoiding a plastic family dog along its ten-square-foot cube of real estate. The bot's Smart ThinQ technology enables it to interact with an Android or iPhone app, which you'll use to watch a live video feed from its built-in cam, send it rolling to a specific point in the house in "Patrol" mode, or adjust settings. You can also log in remotely, assuming your Hom-Bot is powered up and has a WiFi connection. Official US and Euro pricing and availability hasn't been announced yet, but an LG rep suggested we'll see it in the €500-700 range (about $710-995 US). Cameras and interactivity are nice and all, but that's a lot to spend on any vacuum cleaner. Today's trade show sneak peek is probably the closest we'll be getting to this pricey little vac, so roll past the break for some super action footage.%Gallery-132520%
LG launches 'RoboKing Triple Eye' smartphone-controlled vacuuming robot
You won't have to leave your post on the couch, but you will have to lift a finger to your smartphone in order to tidy up with LG's 'RoboKing Triple Eye' VR6180VMNV robot vacuum. Unlike it's purple cousin who spends his time looking inwards, this little guy is always looking outward with its three cameras, capturing video and sending it to your smartphone or PC over WiFi. The robot uses sensors to create a plan of attack map of your home, allowing you to move it around by clicking the filthiest parts. Like a well-trained puppy, the dust buster also responds to voice commands from up to 5 feet away and it doesn't even bark -- only emitting 48dB of sound while sucking up dust. Of course, laziness of this caliber doesn't come cheap, as it costs 899,000 Korean won, or around $840 bones.
Toshiba Smarbo takes on dirt, Roomba, music playing prowess unclear
Toshiba is just the latest company to enter the robovac fray. Samsung, ASUS and LG have already tested the waters against the mighty iRobot, now it's Smarbo's turn to try its hand at automated vacuuming. Inside the round floor cleaner are 38 sensors that help it avoid obstacles and keep it from falling down stairs, as well as a CPU or CPUs that sport "double brain function" according to the machine translated PR. The bot is quite quick, supposedly able to clean 100 square meters (over 1,000 square feet) in about 90 minutes, and only uses a few pennies worth of electricity to do so. Toshiba's vacubot will hit shelves in Japan for around $1,100 on October first, but it does suffer one distinct disadvantage -- DJ Smarbo just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Neato XV-11 ships out next month, will assassinate dust bunnies for money
Let's face it, a geek's solution to keeping floors clean will typically involve either family members, robots, or a combination of both. For the latter two groups, we've got news that Neato's XV-11 is all set to start shipping this week, with retail and expanded online availability by mid-July. The XV-11's biggest selling point is a laser-based room mapping system that will theoretically allow it to avoid objects other robo vacuums would detect only by impact. That should also deliver more efficient route planning for the little sucker, while the saved up energy will be channeled into what Neato claims is "the world's most powerful robotic vacuum system." Whether such brazen claims are enough to merit your $399, we leave up to you. Sure looks like a mean machine, though.
Fukitorimushi cleaning bot is just like a pet -- only cleaner, quieter, better behaved, and more pillow-shaped
Panasonic recently unveiled a new kind of cleaning robot at the Tokyo Fiber Senseware Expo in Milan. Called Fukitorimushi, the small service bot is covered in Nanofront, a nanofiber polyester fabric which can absorb oil and pick up small paricles of dust. It moves a bit like an earthworm, crawling about the floor using several light sensors to root out the dirt, and can navigate itself back to its charging station when it needs more juice. Designers of the spiffy little guy seem to think that owners will bond to it as if it were a pet. No word on when these dudes will be commercially available, but we'll let you know as soon as we score one of our very own -- we're thinking about calling it Sal. There's a video of it doing its rather unnerving business after the break.[Via Robots.net]
KAR robot arm does the dishes, sort of
Ok, so it may not be quite as ambitious as some all-purpose cleaning robots, but this so-called KAR robot arm developed by a group of researchers from Panasonic and the University of Tokyo does appear to at least do the sole task it was designed for relatively well. While it can't exactly "wash" the dishes, per se, it can apparently pick up even delicate dishes without damaging them, dip them in the water, load them into a dishwasher, and even turn on said dishwasher. The researchers apparently aren't satisfied with things just yet, however, and they say they eventually hope that robot will be able to clean up after a family of four in just five minutes. Head on past the break for a video, and hit up the link below for another silent (and, hence, more unnerving) one.[Via Japan Probe]
Readybot cleans a living room, our hearts continue to flutter
We were already ga-ga over the hobbyist-built ReadyBot cleaning bot when it was scrubbing down a kitchen, but this latest video of the all-white droid picking up a living room cluttered with kid's toys has us solidly past crush and into dangerous obsession territory. Of particular note is that ReadyBot's brought a friend along for the ride -- it deploys a Roomba to vacuum the carpets while it works on the big stuff. Says lead dev Tom Benson, "Why should we re-invent something that already works great?" Good thinking -- an even better idea would be to send one of these things to Engadget HQ immediately. Video after the break.
Samsung's Hauzen Cleaning Robot keeps floors, homeowners happy
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]
Readybot cleans your kitchen, might be single best thing ever invented
We want one. Scratch that: We need one. Check out this ridiculously awesome kitchen-cleaning robot called the Readybot -- if this is what the future of robot enslavement looks like, sign us up. The creators, part of a homebrew group called the Readybot Robot Challenge, are dedicated to finding a breakthrough application for consumer robotics, and team leader Tom Benson says the answer is simple: "We think people want a robot that can clean the kitchen." Uh, yeah. The dishwasher sized Readybot prototype can currently do a little less than half of your common kitchen chores, but Benson says it'll eventually get to 80 percent -- which is about 100 percent more than we're currently doing. Fall in love with the video after the break.
Figla robot cleans up indoors and out
It looks like Japanese manufacturer Figla isn't wasting any time putting its latest cleaning robot to work, recently setting it loose on the streets of Osaka for all to see. While we can't tell if it's happy or disgruntled, the bot does talk while it's performing its duties (as seen in the video after the break), and it can apparently be controlled using a remote control or PC via WiFi when you don't want to just let it do its thing. It also appears to have learned a few more tricks than other cleaning bots, with its various parts able to be swapped out to perform different tasks, including waxing hardwood floors. While the company says the bot could be going on duty across Japan as soon as Spring 2008, it apparently won't be available to the general public, with it aimed instead at companies ready to purchase at least 1,000 of the little suckers.[Via Shiny Shiny]
ETRI's ROMI cleaning bot could beat up, insult your Roomba
What's the Roomba got, Bleeps and bloops? Love in its cold metallic heart? Pshaw. Korea's ETRI just unveiled it's new ROMI bot, which can love your family so much better. Not only is ROMI quite the cutie, but it can clean floors with the best of 'em, all while taking commands via (presumably) WiFi and CDMA, recording video with its big camera eyes, and vocalizing via a speech synthesizer. We're sure it's all just a proud, fragile shell, overcompensating for ROMI's general depression and dissatisfaction for the world that give him birth, but we suppose we'll find out when we see this guy at CES and as him a few psychoanalytical questions -- don't worry, it's all in the line of duty.[Via Akihabara]
Microrobot's UBOT cleaning robot
Korean manufacturer Microrobot's UBOT cleaning robot seems to have its sights set clearly on the ever-growing Roomba army (and from the looks of it, may have already eaten one). Unlike the Roomba, however, the UBOT is only intended for use on hard floors, with a 60W vacuum to suck up the dirt, although it lacks the Scooba's squeegee-action, instead using an advanced cloth-dispensing system to pick up what the vacuum misses (kinda like a RoboSwiffer). Still, it should be able to find its way around your place on its own and avoid any obstacles, even if it might not fit under much of your furniture. A higher-end model is also available that features what Microrobot calls a "2D barcode navigation system," which promises to clean rooms more efficiently -- how, exactly, we're not sure. The UBOT does look to have the Roomba beat in one important area though, featuring a voice guide to inform you of its conditions in a "soft and calm tone." Sound familiar?[Via AVING.net]
