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Samsung To Launch New Robot Vacuum in Europe…but it’s no Neato (video)

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by Aaron Saenz on March 13th, 2010
samsung navibot robot vacuum

Navibot has great features to make it better than the Roomba, but the Neato XV-11 could kick its ass.

Samsung’s newest robot vacuum, the Navibot, looks and acts like an improved Roomba. It sports the same round shape but has special whip-like brushes to throw dirt into the path of its vacuum. Navibot’s best innovation over the Roomba, however, is it’s “Visionary Mapping System”. According to the AP, Navibot uses an upwards facing camera to capture images of the ceiling at 30 frames per second. Along with 30+ IR sensors around its periphery, Navibot uses the camera video to map out the room and plan an efficient path for cleaning. The vacuum will even return to its charging station if it’s running low on power. Other features include a drop-sensor so it won’t fall down stairs, a remote control which can vary vacuuming modes, and optional IR fences (Virtual Guards) that can seal off a room into sections. All these capabilities may put Navibot ahead of the Roomba, but it’s still a ways behind Neato’s XV-11. Samsung is launching the Navibot in Europe this year (UK in April) for €399 with one Virtual Guard or €499 with a touchscreen and two Virtual Guards. Check out the promo video from Samsung Europe below.

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iRobot Swabs the Deck of the USS Freedom

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by Aaron Saenz on February 23rd, 2010

Some of the newest robots to join the US Navy aren’t spy planes or attack drones, they’re house cleaners. According to the Military Times, both the USS Freedom and the USS Independence have Roombas and Scoobas to help them keep the deck shipshape. These vacuums and scrubbers from iRobot are the same as the ones you use at home, only they have cooler names. The USS Freedom gives each little bot in their iRobot fleet a title such as Chief Miles O’Brien. As fun as the robotic cleaners may be, they serve a useful purpose. The Freedom has a typical crew of less than 50, and while they still sweep by hand, the Roombas and Scoobas reduce the time it takes to maintain the 115m long vessel. Freedom’s choice to include robots in non mission critical roles suggests that automation is gaining important at all levels of the military.

roombas on USS Freedom

The USS Freedom keeps clean with the help of a fleet of bots like these three from iRobot. From left to right they are CS3 Scooba Stevens, Chief Miles O'Brien, and ITSN Unger. All the bots on the ship have names...can you guess the origin for each of these three?

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Suck it up! Neato Is Ready to Kick Robot Vacuum Butt

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by Aaron Saenz on February 9th, 2010
neato robot vacuum xv-11

Laser range finding, SLAM navigation, an LCD screen and more powerful suction. The XV-11 is a Roomba killer, no doubt about it.

It’s been more than seven years since iRobot introduced the world to the Roomba robotic vacuum. Seven years without fundamental innovation, and its left the market ripe for competition. Enter Neato. This Silicon Valley startup is ready to take the robotic vacuum world by storm. The engineers over at Neato Robotics let us take a tour of their Mountain View home and get a first hand look at the XV-11 ($399), the vacuum robot that’s going to kill the Roomba. Yep, Neato doesn’t like to judge the competition, but I don’t mind talking trash: Neato has a bot that sees better, works smarter, and sucks harder…and that’s a good thing. After talking with VP Patrick De Neale, I can tell you that Neato isn’t just building the next great robotic vacuum, it’s building the next great robotic empire with more than $15 million in funding and retailers lined up to get the vacuum to market. Don’t fret robo-junkies, we’ve got some great videos and pics to sate your hunger for machine machinations after the break.

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Woomba – A Robot Just For Women (Video)

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by Keith Kleiner on June 4th, 2009

Update: did not realize hulu doesn’t work for international viewers.  Go here if the hulu video below does not work for you.

A few years ago SNL did a commercial parody about the iRobot Roomba, promoting a women’s robot called the Woomba.  Some will call it poor taste, but for the rest of us the video is one of the more hilarious robot videos out there.  Check it out:

Saturday Night Live – Woomba