Robotic Vacuums Tend to be More Amusing than Funct
Boston, MA, August 23--A new generation of robotic vacuums is ready to do battle with dirt, dust and dog hair with more cleaning power and cunning than their ancestors could muster.
Faced with the usual obstacles — furniture, stairs, low-hanging bed skirts and stray socks — they intelligently and acrobatically extricate themselves from most tight spots and largely avoid getting stuck or sucking in what they shouldn't.
Yet in-home tests reveal a dirty secret: They're no match for an old-fashioned standup vacuum and some elbow grease.
Their weaknesses notwithstanding, Robovacs have been a hit. The disc-shaped, whirring $200 Roomba Floorvac scooted its way into homes two years ago.
More than a half-million Floorvac sales later, Burlington, Mass.-based iRobot Corp. is following up with a next-generation version called the Discovery that aims to be smarter, quieter, more powerful and easier to recharge.
The $250 Discovery and its nemesis, The Sharper Image's new $300 eVac, represent advances in home robotics at prices comparable to high-end standup vacuums.
The Discovery has the upper hand when it comes to accessories, capacity, quiet operation and recharging ease. But it's no match for the eVac's superior ability to avoid getting stuck and beefier (but still modest) sucking power. Both robots don't clean up heavy messes and both skirt hard-to-reach corners.
Still, their artificial intelligence is impressive. The Discovery employs some of the technologies iRobot developed for military minesweeping.
What limits these competing robovacs' performance isn't related to their artificial intelligence so much as to their small size and lightweight batteries. They operate best when traveling freely on an open, uncluttered floor. If your place is more chaotic, robovacs provide more amusement than cleaning.
Both vacuums will likely perform well if your home is soiled only by light dirt and other fine particles — a realization you will reach after the robots go over the same sizable cookie crumb a few times without sucking it up, or snatch it briefly and spit it out a couple feet away.
Both can transition well from hard floors or low carpet to rugs. And both have impact-sensing bumpers that instruct the robot where it can and can't go and leave such obstacles as antique furniture undamaged.
