Roomba Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Roomba Robot Vacuum Cleaner

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Description
This mobile robot for vacuuming floors is a first-generation Roomba, a widely successful domestic robot. On the market beginning in 2002, the Roomba is a product of the firm iRobot, founded in Burlington, Mass., in 1990 by MIT roboticists Colin Angle, Helen Greiner and Rodney Brooks. A team of eight designed the robot, and the basic patent is 6,883,201.
The battery-operated Roomba rolls on wheels and reacts to its environment with the aid of sensors and computer processing. When it bumps into an obstacle or detects an infrared beam, a boundary line it does not cross emitted by a separate “virtual wall” unit, the robot will change direction randomly.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
vacuum cleaner, robot
vacuum cleaner
maker
iRobot Corporation
Physical Description
plastic (overall material)
grey (overall color)
metal (overall material)
rubber (overall material)
black (overall color)
Measurements
overall: 3 in x 13 1/2 in; 7.62 cm x 34.29 cm
ID Number
2013.0158.01
catalog number
2013.0158.01
accession number
2013.0158
Credit Line
Gift of Roger Connor
See more items in
Work and Industry: Mechanisms
Industry & Manufacturing
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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Comments

Seeing that the patent that led to robo vacuums is already fifteen years old makes me realize that I'm no spring chicken. What advancements have been made in robo vacuums since the original 2002 patent?

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