Robotic Vacuum Cleaners

The George Jetson era is upon us! Ok, very few of you even know what the "Jetson's" are or, you've just revealed your age if you do.  They were a cartoon family from my childhood living in the future when robot maids served and cleaned and cars flew. Certainly they had a robotic vacuum cleaner but I can't honestly say I don't remember seeing it.

Robotic vacuums have been around awhile and though the concept sounds wonderful - it'll wake up and vacuum the entire floor and put itself back into the charging cradle while you're at work, I wonder if in reality there's anything to them?  If so, they certainly are a game changer as far as the way we clean our homes.


Robotic vacuums are technological marvels because they can vacuum hard floors, carpeted floors and rugs. They generally come with accessories that allow it to clean in corners and along baseboards. They are also fully automatic, needing no user intervention once programmed other than emptying the waste bin.

Robotic vacuums are designed to clean the room randomly and sometimes vacuum the same area several times. However they are designed to cover the entire floor at least once and will return to their charging station if a low battery is detected or they finsish cleaning the intended area.

Most robotic vacuums are very sleek and compact. This allows them to vacuum under furniture or beds, something full size vacuums struggle with unless numerous attachments and extension hoses are used. They are also programmed to detect the legs of furniture or chairs and will successfully maneuver around these objects. Walls are detected and the vacuum will usually begin vacuum along a wall while cleaning the area where the floor meets the baseboards. Rubber bumpers on the vacuum make sure walls and furniture are not damaged.

Most robotic vacuums have sensors to detect if getting ready to go down a step and will automatically reverse it's course and learn where those steps are. Some models come with "room blockers" that allow you set areas of the house you don't want vacuumed.

I have no idea how but the leading manufacturer (iRobot and their Roomba series) claim the vacuum can detect dirt and seek out the dirtiest parts of the floor first and continually clean until all dirt and debris is removed. Pretty impressive if you ask me, provided it works as designed.

The vacuums aren't cheap but new technology rarely is. Expect to spend $300 to $600 for these technological marvels, depending on features you want and whether you desire the latest and greatest model.

All in all we are nearing when life will be a breeze and cleaning, grocery shopping and walking the dog will all be handled by robots. Now if they could just figure out a way to go to work for me so I can golf, THAT would be ideal.