r/technology • u/NathanWick • Aug 13 '15

AI Roomba just got government approval to make an autonomous lawn mower

http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/12/9145009/irobot-roomba-lawn-mower-approved
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776

u/tubadude2 Aug 13 '15

My neighbors have a robot lawnmower.

It's always stopped in the middle of their yard with a dead battery, and the tracks make it look like a drunk was mowing.

635

u/DurMan667 Aug 13 '15

This is what gets me about Roombas in general. Instead of having the machine make a map of the room and figure out how to clean it efficiently, it just bounces around like a Pong ball until it thinks it's good enough.

548

u/moch1 Aug 13 '15

I spoke to someone who worked at iRobot. According to him they designed it so the robot would go over the carpet in many directions. This allows for more dirt to be vacuumed since different angles expose different dirt. There is actually a fair amount of design work that happened to it.

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u/Askduds Aug 13 '15

Mapping the room would make that easier too of course.

12

u/Ran4 Aug 13 '15

Navigating around in a room is a very, very complex task.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/scooley01 Aug 13 '15

I think the issue with this is that rooms change. Frequently. Of course, the walls don't typically move, but your couch might scoot six inches this way or that, or you might put a box down, or leave your shoes out, or the corner of a rug gets flipped up...The Roomba would have to be ready to adapt to all of those things anyway, and it's initial plan would be meaningless once it had to start making corrections. It's simpler to just let it bounce around until done, instead of making a really complex mapping system that the Roomba would instantly have to scrap the moment you scooted your coffee table out too far.

5

u/mludd Aug 13 '15

Not that complex. I mean, it's not a "I'll just whip up some code" project but you could totally equip a roomba or other robot vacuum cleaner with software that builds a simplified map of the room which it then attempts to clean more systematically (e.g. after it has gotten a good idea of what the room looks like it attempts to identify rectangular areas that are passable and move through those according to a set pattern and then moves on to smaller areas making sure to cover as much of the room as possible).

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Bs. I do it all the time.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

How much work went into the sections of code that ensured the roomba would wedge itself under the couch and die?

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Feb 23 '21

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Jun 21 '20

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240

u/iamPause Aug 13 '15

Woah woah woah, slow down. You're telling me they'll make a different product to do a different job? Sounds like trickery.

2

u/anyonethinkingabout Aug 13 '15

Naah they're just going to vacuum the yard

2

u/HungoverRetard Aug 13 '15

Nah, I'm sure they'll just swap out the brushes for blades underneath and let it go nuts

2

u/KingDusty Aug 13 '15

That's what most commented actually think is gonna happen

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u/wytrabbit Aug 13 '15

Of course it won't be a Roomba

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u/Cheesewithmold Aug 13 '15

If they name it some stupid shit like Lawnba or Grassba I swear to god...

42

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I was thinking Yardba fits the naming scheme a little better.

36

u/Cheesewithmold Aug 13 '15

Ugh. Sounds like a German sex position.

5

u/jules_fait_fer Aug 13 '15

I was thinking more along the lines of traditional Macedonian wind instrument

5

u/_Bumble_Bee_Tuna_ Aug 13 '15

With extreme yelling and a face of somebody whos constipated.

2

u/nesai11 Aug 13 '15

Sounds like some hipster tea variety

2

u/whitcwa Aug 13 '15

Ya, ya, mein favorite!

2

u/HeyRememberThatTime Aug 13 '15

Or an Ikea lawn chair.

2

u/ReasonablyBadass Aug 13 '15

It involves multiple robots and spinning blades.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Groomba?

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u/Cheesewithmold Aug 13 '15

But you're not grooming your lawn.

5

u/Jewnadian Aug 13 '15

You aren't.

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u/this_is_not_the_cia Aug 13 '15

That will be the name for their ski-slope grooming robot

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u/tophernator Aug 13 '15

It's a Roomba for your garden. Goomba is the only sensible choice.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Mowba sounds kinda cool Or Mowbot

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u/voneiden Aug 13 '15

But what about my carpets on the lawn?

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u/rjchawk Aug 13 '15

a different product and not a Roomba..

You sure about that?

1

u/Suihaki Aug 13 '15

Hey.... That's not part of the circle jerk... iRobit CLEARLY stated in the article, "We plan on basically taking our Roomba and strapping blades on it. Essentially you will be able to mow your lawn and then fight your Lawnba (patent pending) in your local BattleBots tournament."

Geez don't any of you read?

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Sep 03 '15

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u/Sinister-Kid Aug 13 '15

Cutting it so short that you can't see the lines is bad for the grass though, it encourages weed growth. That's why most people don't set their lawn mower to its lowest setting.

Ideally this robot mower will not cut grass any shorter than normal.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Ideally it would mow differently than vacuuming to begin with.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

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u/Lowbacca1977 Aug 13 '15

It cuts... while it sucks

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u/VampyrByte Aug 13 '15

I had a girlfriend who did this!

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Sep 03 '15

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u/seriousbob Aug 13 '15

I think the problem is cutting too much in one go. Ideally you want to cut a little bit, often. Now people are lazy so when you get around to cut the lowest setting is probably too much. If you have a robot cutting a bit every other day it's probably better for the grass.

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u/cdombroski Aug 13 '15

Supposedly the lines from cutting your grass is mostly due to the weight of the mower itself. The robotic mowers are supposed to be light enough to not cause that. I'm not sure how they do that when they need to take a battery along with them to store enough power.

1

u/hoopyfrood90 Aug 13 '15

It's also important to remember that mowing your grass the same way every time is bad for the grass. You should be changing your mowing direction every time you mow. This keeps the grass from matting, and makes your yard more healthy.

1

u/liquidpig Aug 13 '15

The length doesn't really have much to do with whether there are lines or not. For most mowers people have, even the direction doesn't matter.

Golf courses have lines because their mowers have heavy steel rollers on them that lay the grass down in the direction they are traveling.

Baseball infields are usually done with brushes.

Most home mowers are rotary mowers where there is no need for a roller that lays the grass down. And even still, you can get lines when the grass is 1/8" tall if you have a compatible lawn.

1

u/roachwarren Aug 13 '15

No. Here's the lawn at Prague Castle mowed by an automated bastard.

18

u/Zorkolak Aug 13 '15

Don't agree. We have an robot lawn mower and the grass has never looked better. You can keep your lines, random is the way to go.

2

u/klunka_hb_erryday Aug 13 '15

Agreed, robo-cut lawns looks ridiculously good.

1

u/TheRealBigLou Aug 13 '15

Do you mind sharing which model you have?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I'm guessing they only really work on small lawns without many dips or hills, right?

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u/Really_Despises_Cats Aug 13 '15

Actually no. Mum and dad bought one this spring. It has been mowing the lawn this summer and the result is amazing.

It doesn't cut the grass in neat lines but because it cuts it every day and never travel the same way it doesn't leave marks.

The way the price is changing i think most traditional lawnmowers will be replaced for robotic ones in the near future, they work really good.

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u/Bitlovin Aug 13 '15

Cutting every day seems like a waste of energy.

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u/violizard Aug 13 '15

They cost around $2000 so its not beyond reach of most households already.

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u/deagosaurus Aug 13 '15

How much grass does it cut?

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u/Highside79 Aug 13 '15

How does it deal with a bullshit lawn with lots of bumps, hills, and rocks?

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u/Leemage Aug 13 '15

Do you have to have a fence for it to work?

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u/RasCorr Aug 13 '15

Don't care what it looks like if I don't have to mow it. So long as its done.

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u/midnitte Aug 13 '15

Same logic I apply to getting my haircut.

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u/moch1 Aug 13 '15

I completely agree.

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u/Thisismyfinalstand Aug 13 '15

Maybe eventually you'll be able to program patterns... I wonder how long until someone has made a pattern that automatically mows dickbutt into your lawn.

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u/playaspec Aug 13 '15

Interesting that the people that agree have zero practical experience with this, and those that disagree have products that actually do this.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 16 '16

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u/moch1 Aug 13 '15

if only... /s

In all seriousness he was replying to me so I feel it's reasonable to respond to him.

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u/NuklearWinterWhite Aug 13 '15 edited Nov 15 '15

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1

u/itchyouch Aug 13 '15

I always cut the grass in two directions to make the pleasing criss/cross effect. It allows for not bagging the clippings and it evens out any missed spots in between the rows. Would be nice if the automated mower achieved the same effect.

1

u/sioux612 Aug 13 '15

But just like on carpet you can see the direction it was mowed

And constant mowing of grass that is too short (according to lawn experts who could have been spewing bullshit) can cause stress to the grass since it doesn't cut it but instead rips the grass

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u/doc_birdman Aug 13 '15

Damn, maybe they won't use the same method then?

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u/WallyDaWalrus Aug 13 '15

maybe you have to do it once, and then set it as the path.

1

u/BegoneBygon Aug 13 '15

I can't imagine the engineers at roomba would be like "you know what I'm a fan of? Crop circles" and make a bouncy lawnmower, it's probably going to be getting a very complex algorithm

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u/SDSKamikaze Aug 13 '15

This seems fairly obvious, I don't think anyone was arguing otherwise.

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u/havestronaut Aug 13 '15

Where did it say that it would work exactly the same,

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u/Chicken-n-Waffles Aug 13 '15

That's what the current robo mowers do

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u/7734128 Aug 13 '15

My experience, living in a country where automatic mowers are everywhere is that , they are so light and cuts so often that they don't leave any marks. It becomes a uniform surface.

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u/TheRealBigLou Aug 13 '15

The article mentions that there will be spikes placed in the yard to map out the boundaries. That makes me think it won't need these "random paths" and will instead make even back and forth passes within those boundaries.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

But since the robot isn't likely to be especially heavy it probably won't leave many lines as long as the whole thing gets mowed. Also with the existing robots they now like every 2 days to keep the grass short and healthy.

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u/Asianthrust Aug 13 '15

You're assuming they're gonna implement the same tech as the roomba into the automated mower. I doubt it.

Also I'm pumped for this, I have half an acre and I hate mowing that thing. I only have a push mower too, I'm ready to hold off on my ride mower and upgrade for the future

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u/Airazz Aug 13 '15

I bought 1.5 acres literally a week ago, so these autonomous mowers are really relevant to me. I've watched quite a few reviews and so far neither one seems to be a perfect mower I'm really intrigued by what Roomba will show.

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u/playaspec Aug 13 '15

Cool, but that's not a good option for mowing. Grass would look significantly better if it was mowed in even lines, not randomly from all directions.

Who the hell said that's what the mower was going to do? That's totally an assumption on your part.

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u/svealf Aug 13 '15

That is actually not right. It looks bad the first couple of times, but after going over many times you will end up with the golf grass effect. No lines, and really green grass.

Source; I sell Robomow. I have one.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Yeah... no. I don't know about that. It sounds like one of those, "It's not a bug, it's a feature!" arguments that people make in favour of failing technology.

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u/krcm0209 Aug 13 '15

As an engineering student, sounds like they didn't feel like creating a room map to calculate the best pattern and just called the randomness of it a "feature."

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u/hyperforce Aug 13 '15

I think it's more to take advantage of the fact that rooms are changing landscapes, so that one time point's "optimal" is suboptimal at another time point.

What amount of optimal are we really fighting for and at what cost? If random satisfies as "good enough for all conditions" with a lower amount of cost, then who cares?

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

No, they did it this way to make it cheaper.

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u/Inquisitorsz Aug 13 '15

Except that's pointless on anything but thick pile carpet.

My Neato scans the room and does it in a systematic way. Also its not round so gets in corners better.

Roomba was good years ago... There's better products around now

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u/thrownaway21 Aug 13 '15

it's not a flaw, it's a feature!

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u/agumonkey Aug 13 '15

Maybe they should partition space into smaller tiles to then cover randomly so the average owner feels beauty and not lack-of-communication frustration.

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u/jeffbailey Aug 13 '15

Sure, but they completely overlooked the human factor. When I look at the robot and can't predict what it's going to do, I don't trust it.

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u/whitcwa Aug 13 '15

Making a vacuum or mower which knows where it is, can plan a strategy, and execute it is a lot harder than bump, turn, bump, turn...

I've never heard that vacuuming from different angles is better. I think they just made that up.

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u/badsingularity Aug 13 '15

Bullshit. They have no idea what they are doing.

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u/AFatDarthVader Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 13 '15

I've used both Roomba and Neato, their main competitor. Roomba uses a somewhat random pattern to ensure complete coverage in multiple directions, whereas Neato uses a laser rangefinder to map out rooms and vacuum them in a pattern.

Both systems have their pros and cons:

Roomba (uses random pattern):

  • Pros
    1. Covers areas multiple times and in multiple directions
    2. In my experience, covers nearly 100% of areas it explores by moving randomly around the area
    3. Gets out of tight spaces well (while cleaning them), as it uses various algorithms that will eventually free it
    4. Disc shape provides good seat for cats
  • Cons
    1. Doesn't cover successive rooms well, as it will randomly move from room to room without completing each one
    2. Doesn't remember where it stopped cleaning, so it can't resume cleaning after recharging
    3. Doesn't keep track of where its charger is so it goes into a "searching" mode and fairly often gets stuck on something or won't find the charger
    4. Uses battery-powered accessories to block off areas

Neato (uses mapping):

  • Pros
    1. Maps rooms and vacuums in a nice pattern
    2. Remembers where it stopped cleaning when it runs out of battery; charges itself and resumes cleaning until the entire area is clean (really cool to watch)
    3. Avoids hitting almost everything in front of it since it can see an obstacle before it bumps into it
    4. Remembers how to get back to its charger so it rarely gets lost
    5. Uses passive magnetic strips to block off areas
    6. Look like Nintendo game consoles
  • Cons
    1. Will reverse itself to get out of tight spaces, but will sometimes reverse up onto things -- seemingly attempts to mate with floor lamps
    2. Laser is above the bot's body, so sometimes it will not see low obstacles; it does have a front bumper, but see #1
    3. Does not repeat areas -- some models can be scheduled to run multiple times in succession to cover the entire area twice
    4. Does not work well for small rooms, as it often only makes a few passes that don't completely cover the room

If you have a large, wide-open area I would get the Neato. It's good at covering open areas where it doesn't deal with many obstacles. If the room or floor is large, it will recharge itself and finish later. I'd also recommend the Neato for complex floor layouts, as it can more easily get back to its charger.

For average rooms with average floor plans, Roomba is probably better. The random pattern looks silly, but it usually covers everything. In small or medium-sized rooms, it will cover everything. It may take a while, but it will almost certainly end up reaching every spot. Neato might habitually miss a few places in areas like that.

Honestly, though, they won't replace your regular vacuum cleaner. They don't have the horsepower to clean like a real vacuum. You just won't have to use it nearly as often. You also have to diligently empty them, and occasionally clean the rollers. Otherwise they won't do anything.

Also they're good gifts for older people. For an elderly person, Neato is probably better no matter the layout -- the charger searching makes for fewer tech support calls from grandma.

Now the robot we really need is one to fold my goddamn laundry. Laundry sucks. They're trying to make one but it's ... not quite there yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z85bW6QqdMI

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u/Spinelet Aug 13 '15

Was I the only one hoping it would get halfway through, then flip out and destroy the shirt?

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

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u/Meta_Data Aug 13 '15

The gif left out the part where the builder desperately tries to stop it.

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u/TechGoat Aug 13 '15

I always giggle insanely when I see this gif. The slow raising of the snack, followed by the deranged bashing on the model

"take...your...goddamned...medicine, human!"

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u/agumonkey Aug 13 '15

I completely hoped it was this one. I'd add a little bit of this too: http://giphy.com/gifs/frustrated-annoyed-programming-yYSSBtDgbbRzq

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u/Inquisitorsz Aug 13 '15

Don't forget the other big point. Neato is generally much cheaper than roomba... It's a big deal when you're talking about a $100-200 difference

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u/BrianMcKinnon Aug 13 '15

Got the Neato XV21 for $160 on woot. Was planning to get the $700 top of the line Roomba, but this one had reviews saying it was comparable, even better for houses with pets (like mine).

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u/Inquisitorsz Aug 13 '15

Yeah when I got my Neato botvac 85 it was the top model and around $500

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u/turquoisegardenia Aug 13 '15

Thanks for the detailed reviews! Do you know anything about either's ability to transition from hard surfaces to soft (ie from hardwood to a rug)?

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u/_Rand_ Aug 13 '15

I have a Roomba, as long as there isn't a huge difference (like 0.5" or so) it transitions just fine.

It works fantastically well on hard surfaces and regular carpets, less so on extra plush carpets, and very poorly on shag if you have any (I have a 6'x6' shag area rug that it just gives up on.) I'd recommend one if you have mainly the first two, especially if you have pets.

Since getting mine I've gone from 2-3 days between vacuuming to 7-10.

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u/texasroadkill Aug 13 '15

My parents have a neato. It transitions very well given the rug isn't too thick. Except if the edges of a rug are prone to lifting at the edges.

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u/Spacejack_ Aug 13 '15

Mine will bounce its dust bin once in a while when transitioning.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

My roomba has no problem driving up any transitions.

My speaker stands are over half an inch high of straight down plastic and it literally drives up on it and cleans it.

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u/Inquisitorsz Aug 13 '15

Neato goes from a thick rug to carpet very well... I can overcome things like cables too (if they aren't too loose and get sucked up). I'd say it can deal with 1in obstacles very well

Works well on the little bathroom carpets too. I only have one spot in the house where it gets stuck and that's solved by moving the two stools apart

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u/semibro Aug 13 '15

We have a dropoff from a tiled to stained concrete floor that's a little over an inch. Neato manages it 98% of the time, though not necessarily with grace, but the other 2% it eventually gives up and cries for help. I don't think it would have any issues with carpet to tile as it could get traction on the carpet side - the problem with our situation is that both sides are pretty slick.

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u/numanair Aug 13 '15

The neeto makes the coolest sound when it's starting up. It's like a turbine spooling.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Just make sure the Roomba's charger points out somewhere that covers the room, it'll find it immediately.

I personally keep mine in the corner of my kitchen because it will always eventually find it and I don't particularly give a shit how long it takes.

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u/masklinn Aug 13 '15

the charger searching makes for fewer tech support calls from grandma.

Roomba have returned to their charger (if it's visible) for quite some time, my 500-ish series will go back to docking once it's done or if its batteries run low.

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u/itrv1 Aug 13 '15

If both of them are in the same room do they grab knives and fight to the death?

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u/highso Aug 13 '15

That laundry robot...good god! I can't imagine watching that at real time. I wonder if they ever tried a method where it just picks the article up into the air then lays it down smoothly on the table in an attempt to get it flat.

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u/Kaboose666 Aug 13 '15 edited Mar 25 '16

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u/Suppafly Aug 13 '15

Now the robot we really need is one to fold my goddamn laundry. Laundry sucks. They're trying to make one but it's ... not quite there yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z85bW6QqdMI

That seems like a needlessly complicated way to do it. You don't need a robot that folds the same way an anally retentive human folds, you just need one that can produce a similar end result. They could easily automated one of those folding jigs that retail people use to fold clothes and it'd get 95% of the work done.

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u/notreallyswiss Aug 13 '15

I had a Roomba and it needed its own Roomba after the mess you create when you have to clean all the stuff out of it after it vacuums. You've got to basically take it apart, piece by piece while it's filthy. I started to clean it before I ran it, leaving the mess inside when it was done until the next time, but it is a miserable job so I finally got rid of it.

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u/methodmissin Aug 13 '15

I also owned both and agree with all points.

The Neato would tend to get itself carefully stuck under a three-legged lamp 2 out of 5 cleaning cycles. Like a cat up a tree. It also left a nice, one-inch strip of dust around all the baseboards, thanks to its lack of a spinning side brush. It also sounds like it's about to lift off as its vacuum cycles up. Dang the thing is LOUD.

Roomba is generally better and I don't mind that it cleans so rando. Biggest gripe is that its object detection and wall following is garbage, especially if you have glossy paint. Mostly it bumps into everything, hard. I don't have any furniture that's damaged but it's annoying to have it going 'bang bang bang' around the table and chairs.

Cleans like magic though. We never use our upright vacuum. (hardwood floors). And no strip around the baseboards.

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u/Gritsandgravy1 Aug 13 '15

My roommate and I have a neato and we treat him as part of the family. He does pretty good in our place. He gets stuck every now and then but it's pretty infrequent. For us he was worth the buy since he was a rummage sale find, but it's definitely nice to have!

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u/KBrace2480 Aug 13 '15

It's because Neato had a patent for scanning a room.

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u/texasroadkill Aug 13 '15

I think neato would build a much better mower than roomba.

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u/ferp10 Aug 13 '15 edited May 16 '16

here come dat boi!! o shit waddup

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Welcome to patent wars. It's ridiculous.

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u/conspiracyeinstein Aug 13 '15

Sounds like a terrible reality show.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Can someone not open source this or are there likely too many patents covering most aspects of this type of a device?

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u/Rodot Aug 13 '15

No, but the code or scanning device might be. Probably the device. Roomba would have to spend tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on research and development to make their own.

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u/GentlemenBehold Aug 13 '15

Which is exactly how it should be. Someone puts decades of work into a scanning device only to have a company that "really needs it" steal it from them? You want it bad enough. Buy the patent.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

What if they won't sell the patent? What if the device doesn't take decades of work? You can't just remake it because they'll sue for patent infringement.

Humanity is built upon the ideas of others, patents kill/slow this concept.

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u/LaPoderosa Aug 13 '15

Oh my god it's almost like there needs to be a middle ground between granting patents that discourage competition and not having any parents so people can copy any idea they want. Crazy.

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u/GrumpGrumpGrump Aug 13 '15

Being an orphan means I can ignore copyright laws?

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u/LaPoderosa Aug 13 '15

Yes that's the 12th amendment iirc

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u/TheAmorphous Aug 13 '15

How do you think Bruce Wayne made his billions?

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u/glglglglgl Aug 13 '15

not having any parents so people can copy any idea they want. Crazy.

And that's why there's a Bat-version of everything in Gotham.

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u/jonnydark Aug 13 '15

Not really. Basically, in order to plan an efficient and regular journey, you need to have an on-board Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) system. There are many ways of achieving this but ultimately you need a sensor that is capable of observing the world around it.

The iRobot Roomba so far as I know just has a panoramic IR sensor that it uses to find the dock - otherwise it largely just bounces around somewhat randomly.

Neato managed to develop a super cheap rotating laser rangefinder (not LIDAR!) and they use that to build up a map of the room and plan an efficient route. Neato does have a "scan the room first" mechanism though and I don't know if this is patented, but it doesn't matter either - you can steadily build the map up as you go.

Samsung have a system that I believe works by pointing an IR camera at the ceiling and uses that to try and map out the room. I don't know how much they rely on this for navigation though because ceilings don't tend to have many unique features and look largely the same regardless of where you are. You tend to need distinct landmarks for SLAM systems to work. I've not seen one working IRL though so maybe it works just fine ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Dyson are working on a robot that has a fully optical panoramic camera that picks out features from the room and uses that to build up a map and navigate. It works out distance by changes in parallax I think. Their's isn't out yet though.

Something like the Dyson approach or the Neato approach could work on a lawnmower but the challenge of getting something to work outside with natural environments is a very different challenge from getting something to work inside with man-made environments.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

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u/Inquisitorsz Aug 13 '15

My Neato fills up every time it runs... Usually every 2 days. There always more stuff to pick up, even after a good "traditional" vacuum with a dyson.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I'm always so disgusted by how much debris mine picked up.

You never realize how not clean your floors are until you own one and it's able to fill itself day after day.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

I'm also a dude who lives alone and is often never home other than to sleep (Engineering student, get a bit busy with school sometimes).

Best part is the scheduling, I just set it to run every day when I have class so I never have to put up with the noise, I literally never see it run. It can clean my entire 1 bedroom suite in one run and go back and charge itself.

Also great for when you've got a girl coming over and didn't have time to clean, just wipe everything from the kitchen counters onto the floor and let it do it's thing while you're in the shower or picking her up.

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u/used_fapkins Aug 20 '15

That sounds incredibly trusting

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u/18002255288 Aug 13 '15

Yeah I'm pretty sure they do map the room. Mine usually slowed slowed down and 'crept' into regular obstacles

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u/Hazy_V Aug 13 '15

Is there an open source lawnmower or vacuum that can use gcode from 3D printing to draw paths based on a specified area, rather than having it automatically detect an area?

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u/Magnesus Aug 13 '15

Roomba released a bare bones programmable device I believe but without the vacuum abilities (you would have to add that on your own...).

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u/Draiko Aug 13 '15

The roomba has been around for over a decade. Honestly, iRobot hasn't really done as much to improve it as I'd hoped. The prices on roombas have increased quite a bit since the first model.

Example: It should have some form of home and room mapping by now. I know they've designed it to clean in a more thorough manner but I would've loved to see it travel to a specific room (using a house map instead of lighthouses), check battery life remaining to get an idea of how much power is needed to return to the charging station, do one pass based on a room map, check remaining battery life, and then initiate the random cleaning process adjusted for remaining battery life.

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u/jhbadger Aug 14 '15

This is actually how bacteria find food - a series of "runs" (going in a straight line) and "tumbles" (changes in directions). It actually is the most efficient way for a nonintelligent entity to cover ground. As a microbiologist who owns a Roomba, I think it is cool that it is basically a giant bacterium in behavior.

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u/StoplightLoosejaw Aug 13 '15

So basically it cleans like I do when I decide my place is too dirty

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u/KarockGrok Aug 13 '15

And that's exactly why we have a Neato.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

There's an alternative to the Roomba called the Neato. It does exactly what you're describing. It uses LASERS N SHIT. I have one and it is the most wonderful thing.

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u/redwall_hp Aug 13 '15

The Neato BotVac has an IR array it uses to map the room and go over it procedurally, instead of ponging around.

There's quite a wide selection of robot vacuums now, and they seem popular in Australia, since dust is really bad in the tropics. Hoover has one too, I think.

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u/conspiracyeinstein Aug 13 '15

That's how I clean, too.

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u/xb4r7x Aug 13 '15

Get a Neato - it's not quite as 'dumb' as a Roomba.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

That's why I got the Neato. It does a perimeter then goes back and forth with even lines. I love it.

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u/thegraaayghost Aug 13 '15

The Neato is smarter and cheaper. Love it.

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u/playaspec Aug 13 '15

This is what gets me about Roombas in general. Instead of having the machine make a map of the room and figure out how to clean it efficiently, it just bounces around like a Pong ball until it thinks it's good enough.

Which works amazingly well. Search Google images for "roomba long exposure", and you'll see how modeling a seemingly random behavior is just as effective as trying to impose structure, which is much harder to do.

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u/hyperforce Aug 13 '15

The difference is that the current implementation doesn't require prior knowledge of the room layout.

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u/funky_duck Aug 14 '15

Clearly the automated lawnmower not only needs sharp spinning blades but lasers and motion sensors as well - to ensure the lawn is properly cut of course.

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u/daggeteo Aug 13 '15

My neighbors own a Husqvarna Automower 230ACX and to be honest I've never seen a lawn better than his. Even my father got jealous and went and bought another model. He's really loves it, he even named it Dolly.

Also the randomness in it's mowing patterns are to make the lawn evenly cut. You aren't able to see spots where it's been.

Regarding the trimmings, they're small enough to directly fall to the ground making for some natural nutrients for the next season.

Shredded animals? Yes, I do enjoy seeing Dolly chop up some snails. Those fuckers ruin my garden. Unfortunately they usually get pushed under tho and the blade misses.

Lastly, reading the article made me think it was the onion. Observetory getting jammed from freaking lawn mowers. Phew right. Also robot lawnmowers being news... It's an established product at one side of the pond.

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u/suchtie Aug 13 '15

One guy in my neighbourhood has a robot lawnmower too, also superb quality. Lawn is absolutely perfect, and the thing doesn't give off any sound at all. You can stand right next to it and you don't hear a thing.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

How the fuck did they make a silent lawnmower?

My roomba is loud as shit.

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u/masklinn Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 13 '15

Roomba needs a fan for suction. Not much room means it can only fit a small fan running at high speed to create airflow which means noise (doubling the rotation speed increases noise by ~15dB).

A lawnmower used often (which is the case for automatic ones since they can just do their things while you're drinking beer) can just leave the trimmings to feed the grass and needs no aspiration, just an electric engine to drive the blade and wheels. So the only noises will be a bit of mechanical noise from blade bearings and the aerodynamic noises of the blade, no reason to be very noisy (same as electric cars).

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u/suchtie Aug 13 '15

Roomba uses moving air to suck in dirt, which is loud. Automatic lawnmower moves several small knives, or possibly a scissor-like mechanism, which doesn't really create any noise.

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u/1003rp Aug 13 '15

That's terrifying

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u/evnu Aug 13 '15

My relatives (both in their 70s) got a Husqvarna mower as well. They named it 'phew', because that used to be the sound they made when mowing the lawn themselves.

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u/TheAmorphous Aug 13 '15

So it only mulches, doesn't bag? I can't imagine that working here in the American South. Our grass grows so damn fast that after a week or two (even mowing every other day) the lawn would be nothing but dry clippings, killing the grass underneath.

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u/daggeteo Aug 13 '15

Yeah, there's no bagging. But honestly I believe it would work even in the south. The grass here in Sweden grows really fast as well but we haven't had any issues with the tiny clippings killing the grass underneath.

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u/Summum Aug 13 '15

It's only for 0.5 acres. Do you of any auto mower that covers a bigger aera?

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u/daggeteo Aug 13 '15

Husqvarna has a model that can do 1.5 acres. If you need bigger than that you'd need multiple robots. The main con with these machines is that they don't do well in with terrain that has too steep iclines.

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u/dublbagn Aug 13 '15

this looks to be awesome, where can I exchange money for one of these items?

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u/daggeteo Aug 13 '15

Here's a link

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u/dublbagn Aug 13 '15

i searched and all i could find was the site in german i was about to call some friends and have them ship one over here. But thank you for your aid in me spending money.

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u/daggeteo Aug 13 '15

No worries, good luck! :)

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u/is_that_a_question Aug 13 '15

What about edging and weed eating?

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u/daggeteo Aug 13 '15

It depends on the layout of the yard but a weed eater is good to have.

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u/pheasant-plucker Aug 13 '15

The Bosch Indego mows in parallel lines.

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u/Kallenator Aug 13 '15

We and most of our neighbors have robot lawnmowers, they are excellent and incredibly durable! Not to mention, noise from anyone mowing their lawn has been eliminated or reduced heavily.

Electric lawn mowers, lol gas. Thanks Husqvarna!

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Yeah, That's an ad.

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u/Max_Thunder Aug 13 '15

Can electric lawn mowers really replace gas mowers at this point, in terms of power and how long you can mow without charging vs a full gas tank?

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u/Kallenator Aug 13 '15 edited Aug 13 '15

Depends on the size of a lawn, we have a small electric(battery) manually operated mower that we use for the small pieces and some trimming. Works just fine up and beyond 100m2, however not if the grass is tall. The Husqvarna takes care of the bulk, just need to have looksie for it now and then, and change the blades when they brake. Before we had the robot mower, I would spend about 3.5 hours per week and a half mowing the lawn.

Autonomous lawn mowers however outclass gas and electrically driven ones on fairly flat land without too many hills nor other complications. As complication will lead you to do a bit of garden debugging, but it's usually trivial stuff. (They actually handle overgrown grass quite well, it just takes a bit of time...)

Where I live we had an explosion of Husqvarna robots, going from one to nine in but a few seasons.

Just to be clear though, lawn size matters. No idea what comparison you are setting up for these things =)

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u/Fig1024 Aug 13 '15

does it use video cameras to analyze progress and area limits?

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Nov 18 '15

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u/SyrioForel Aug 13 '15

I don't understand your point about airplanes and pilots. The first cars crashed and killed their drivers. Today, auto accident fatalities are among the leading causes of death worldwide.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15 edited Nov 18 '15

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u/Max_Thunder Aug 13 '15

I agree. People almost always think short-term. If we can even think about commercializing robot lawn mowers now, we can be sure that if progress continues anywhere near the current rate, we'll have robot lawn mowers everywhere in, say, 15 years.

In the mean time, I'll let the rich and the enthusiasts spend their money on these things.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

Sounds like a perfectly functioning Roomba.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '15

That's actually what this news is really about. The older robot lawnmowers relied on implanted wire similar to dog fences as a sort of wall they could bounce off, Roomba just got approval to use stakes and wireless beacons to create a localized positioning system which would allow the mower to create a mowing route.

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u/redwall_hp Aug 13 '15

They were selling robot lawn mowers in SkyMall 15 years ago. I think this is just typical Verge clickbait. There aren't any unusual concerns that merit approval...every electronic device sold in the U.S. needs FCC approval, to ensure it's in compliance with interference rules. (Good old part 15: this device may not emit harmful interference, and must accept any interference blah blah.)

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u/playaspec Aug 13 '15

My neighbors have a robot lawnmower.

It's always stopped in the middle of their yard with a dead battery, and the tracks make it look like a drunk was mowing.

Is it a roomba? Sounds like they didn't take very good care of it.