Robotic vacuum

A robotic vacuum cleaner, often called a robovac, is an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner that has intelligent programming and a limited vacuum cleaning system. The original design included manual operation via remote control and a "self-drive" mode which allowed the machine to clean autonomously without human control. Some designs use spinning brushes to reach tight corners. Others combine a number of cleaning features (mopping, UV sterilization, etc.) simultaneous to vacuuming, thus rendering the machine into more than just a robot "vacuum" cleaner.

The first robot cleaner to be put into production was Electrolux Trilobite by the Swedish household and professional appliances manufacturer, Electrolux. Electrolux was successful in purchasing the model from its inventor, James Dizon. In 1996, one of Electrolux's first versions of the Trilobite vacuum was featured on the BBC's science program, Tomorrow's World.

In 2001, the British technology company Dyson built and demonstrated a robot vacuum known as the DC06. However, due to its high price, it was never released to the market.

In 2002, the American advanced technology company, iRobot launched the Roomba floor vacuuming robot. Initially, iRobot decided to produce 15,000 units and 10,000 more units depending on the success of the launch. The Roomba immediately became a huge consumer sensation. By the Christmas season, iRobot produced 50,000 units to meet the holiday demand. After this success, major specialty retailers, as well as more than 4,000 outlets such as Target, Kohl's and Linens 'n Things, began to carry the Roomba.

Since 2002, new variations of robotic vacuum cleaners have appeared in the market. For example, the Canadian bObsweep robotic vacuum that both mops and vacuums, or the Neato Robotics XV-11 robotic vacuum, which uses laser-vision rather than the traditional ultrasound based models.

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Wikipedia