I got a ROOMBA DISCOVERY KNOWLEDGE!
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whirlcool
Well-known member
I received one of these for Christmas ....
I received a Roomba Discovery from my sister for Christmas last year. I do have some comments about it.
1. First of all, it's not really a vacuum but a motorized
carpet sweeper.
2. We have three BIG dogs and also have very thick carpeting,
so we use it on the limited hardwood floors and kitchen
floors only. Even then the little dust bin in the unit packs
up with dog hair rather quickly. And then it wraps itself
tightly around the rollers. You then get to spend the same
amount of time cleaning the brush with a little tool they
give you as you would dragging the vacuum out and doing it
yourself. And don't forget about the filter screen either!
3. Customer Service from the Roomba Company is great. The first
week we lost one of the little yellow thingies that holds
the roller brush in. We called Roomba and they sent us out a
pack of four of them without charge about a week later.
After using this thing for three months here is our opinion.
It does a remarkably well job on hard surfaces. And the battery does last quite sometime before needing a recharge. It will do an entire room before having to recharge again. It's great for the mid week "pick me up" on the hard floors. If you walk barefoot on the floors it does work on after it's done you'll think they've been vacuumed. No grit left at all. Nice and smooth.
It bumps and jumps on our carpets. I think it also grinds and also looses traction on the carpets as well. But the manual tells you not to use it on thick carpet. But we have a Miele for those. I think it would probably work well on indoor/outdoor type carpet that was all the rage in the 60's.
Two of our dogs ignore it, but one (the biggest of course) tries to pick it up. One day while Roomba was working the kitchen, Kurt (1/2 Black Lab/Great Dane mix) came in the den with the entire Roomba in his mouth, still running of course! I couldn't have gotten my camera fast enough. Another day we had it in the dining area on the hardwoods and somehow it ended up in the bedroom, thanks Kurt!
Now my sister, who just bought a new home and is the same one who gave me this Roomba thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread. She has very thick carpeting in her house and she actually gave away her Kirby and thinks that this Roomba will effectively clean her carpets.
But then again in her new house she bought a Miele washer and dryer set. So as a gift, I imported and sent her a couple bottles of Persil. A few weeks later I asked her what she thought of the Persil. She said she didn't like it. She liked the smell but the clothes came out very stiff out of the dryer. I asked her how much Persil she was using and answer was "You know that little cup on the top of the bottle?" I said "yes" she said "Well I just filled it up to the top!" She went through a large bottle of Persil liquid in about a month!
Go figure....
I received a Roomba Discovery from my sister for Christmas last year. I do have some comments about it.
1. First of all, it's not really a vacuum but a motorized
carpet sweeper.
2. We have three BIG dogs and also have very thick carpeting,
so we use it on the limited hardwood floors and kitchen
floors only. Even then the little dust bin in the unit packs
up with dog hair rather quickly. And then it wraps itself
tightly around the rollers. You then get to spend the same
amount of time cleaning the brush with a little tool they
give you as you would dragging the vacuum out and doing it
yourself. And don't forget about the filter screen either!
3. Customer Service from the Roomba Company is great. The first
week we lost one of the little yellow thingies that holds
the roller brush in. We called Roomba and they sent us out a
pack of four of them without charge about a week later.
After using this thing for three months here is our opinion.
It does a remarkably well job on hard surfaces. And the battery does last quite sometime before needing a recharge. It will do an entire room before having to recharge again. It's great for the mid week "pick me up" on the hard floors. If you walk barefoot on the floors it does work on after it's done you'll think they've been vacuumed. No grit left at all. Nice and smooth.
It bumps and jumps on our carpets. I think it also grinds and also looses traction on the carpets as well. But the manual tells you not to use it on thick carpet. But we have a Miele for those. I think it would probably work well on indoor/outdoor type carpet that was all the rage in the 60's.
Two of our dogs ignore it, but one (the biggest of course) tries to pick it up. One day while Roomba was working the kitchen, Kurt (1/2 Black Lab/Great Dane mix) came in the den with the entire Roomba in his mouth, still running of course! I couldn't have gotten my camera fast enough. Another day we had it in the dining area on the hardwoods and somehow it ended up in the bedroom, thanks Kurt!
Now my sister, who just bought a new home and is the same one who gave me this Roomba thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread. She has very thick carpeting in her house and she actually gave away her Kirby and thinks that this Roomba will effectively clean her carpets.
But then again in her new house she bought a Miele washer and dryer set. So as a gift, I imported and sent her a couple bottles of Persil. A few weeks later I asked her what she thought of the Persil. She said she didn't like it. She liked the smell but the clothes came out very stiff out of the dryer. I asked her how much Persil she was using and answer was "You know that little cup on the top of the bottle?" I said "yes" she said "Well I just filled it up to the top!" She went through a large bottle of Persil liquid in about a month!
Go figure....
Even the gadget freak in me has so far resisted the lure of a Roomba. Our house is too big, too much carpet, too much stuff cluttering the place it wouldn't be worth it for the cost. I was more impressed with the Elux Trilobyte but of course it costs 4 times as much at around $1800 Cdn. There was a Roomba clone I saw out there, almost identical, selling for a little over a hundred bucks here. Can't remember the name of it though.
LOL
The poor little Roomba..I can picture the dog putting it down upside down with it's little roller brush up in the air-- exposed. OH MY!
Let's hope the dog's tongue doesn't get caught in it!
The poor little Roomba..I can picture the dog putting it down upside down with it's little roller brush up in the air-- exposed. OH MY!
Let's hope the dog's tongue doesn't get caught in it!
Designgeek
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2004
- Messages
- 865
Real story, no BS:
Many years ago I was posting in an online forum on the future of robotics. There was a guy who was asking what people thought would be the ideal application for a home robot. I posted a detailed description of a robotic floor cleaner, which would consist basically of a vacuum-assisted carpet sweeper with a side brush to get up close to walls.
For all I know, the guy could have been from iRobot, and for all I know, Roomba was the result. One of these days I suppose I could do an archive search for the posting and see how close it came to the actual machine.
---
Needless to say I wouldn't mind having one, except that in my place the surfaces are variable and there are too many wires (telephone, network, etc.) on the floor where they'd get caught up in the brushes.
Seems to me the best application for these is a daily or every-other-day basic cleaning to keep the floors and carpets neat and presentable; a supplement to a good weekly vacuuming rather than a substitute for it.
What I'd like to see next, is a remote-controlled version with variable control for each function (drive speed, "steering," brushes, and vacuum) so you could manually pilot it around a floor or carpet to go after specific areas. A hard-wired remote control would be nice because that could be tied in with mains power, and provide a more powerful suction. This would be a decent way to do things such as clean around the perimeters of the kitchen, where food bits and crumbs accumulate during the day (and attract mice); and the edges of hallways where dust and pet hair tends to settle. It would be intended as a substitute for the good ol' electric broom, but quieter and with the brush to get pet hair.
The biggest design problem with these, as Whirlcool noted, is that hair, string, thread, etc., tends to wrap itself around the brush and brush bearings. There is really no way to overcome that issue entirely, even by using larger vertical-axis side brushes and concealing the ends of the main roller brush spindle. Though, I can think of possible redesigns of the entire brush concept, that would minimize the problem. Think "reciprocating" instead of "rotary"...
Many years ago I was posting in an online forum on the future of robotics. There was a guy who was asking what people thought would be the ideal application for a home robot. I posted a detailed description of a robotic floor cleaner, which would consist basically of a vacuum-assisted carpet sweeper with a side brush to get up close to walls.
For all I know, the guy could have been from iRobot, and for all I know, Roomba was the result. One of these days I suppose I could do an archive search for the posting and see how close it came to the actual machine.
---
Needless to say I wouldn't mind having one, except that in my place the surfaces are variable and there are too many wires (telephone, network, etc.) on the floor where they'd get caught up in the brushes.
Seems to me the best application for these is a daily or every-other-day basic cleaning to keep the floors and carpets neat and presentable; a supplement to a good weekly vacuuming rather than a substitute for it.
What I'd like to see next, is a remote-controlled version with variable control for each function (drive speed, "steering," brushes, and vacuum) so you could manually pilot it around a floor or carpet to go after specific areas. A hard-wired remote control would be nice because that could be tied in with mains power, and provide a more powerful suction. This would be a decent way to do things such as clean around the perimeters of the kitchen, where food bits and crumbs accumulate during the day (and attract mice); and the edges of hallways where dust and pet hair tends to settle. It would be intended as a substitute for the good ol' electric broom, but quieter and with the brush to get pet hair.
The biggest design problem with these, as Whirlcool noted, is that hair, string, thread, etc., tends to wrap itself around the brush and brush bearings. There is really no way to overcome that issue entirely, even by using larger vertical-axis side brushes and concealing the ends of the main roller brush spindle. Though, I can think of possible redesigns of the entire brush concept, that would minimize the problem. Think "reciprocating" instead of "rotary"...
whirlcool
Well-known member
Actually the Roomba does a good job in cluttered rooms. The manual tells you to hide/pick up any wires before cleaning. If Roomba gets snagged on anything, he'll tell you(a special series of beeps you can hear across the house and you can come to its rescue) And it does go around furniture legs quite well. In the rooms it does work in it cleans remarkably well and doesn't miss any spots. What I especially like is that it is small enough to go under furniture. Even though the bedroom is carpeted, we send it under the bed to collect the dust bunnies.
All of our dogs play Frisbee, and I think Kurt thinks that is what Roomba is, a Frisbee that makes noises.
Would I pay this kind of money for something like this? No, but it is somewhat useful for what it does. There is nothing as nice as waking up in the morning to walk across the kitchen floor barefoot to get your coffee as having a clean, grit free floor.
All of our dogs play Frisbee, and I think Kurt thinks that is what Roomba is, a Frisbee that makes noises.
Would I pay this kind of money for something like this? No, but it is somewhat useful for what it does. There is nothing as nice as waking up in the morning to walk across the kitchen floor barefoot to get your coffee as having a clean, grit free floor.
veg-o-matic
Well-known member
Don't have any interest in a Roomba, but that Scooba looks promising.
I hate cleaning floors. Even with the Floor-A-Matic, though it definitely makes the job easier/faster/better. The problem is, there's still WAY too much intervention on my part needed!
Think I'll wait, though, until the Scooba hits the closeout trail.
veg
I hate cleaning floors. Even with the Floor-A-Matic, though it definitely makes the job easier/faster/better. The problem is, there's still WAY too much intervention on my part needed!
Think I'll wait, though, until the Scooba hits the closeout trail.
veg
A Scooba might work well on my tile, which covers more than half the house. How large of an area can it navigate? Does the scanning-pattern confine it to one "room" at a time? But considering I bought a Floor-Mate that I've only used once for wet-cleaning and a few times for vacuuming (my Celebrity is better for getting in corners), it's unlikely I'll to$$ fund$ at something else.
whirlcool
Well-known member
If Scooba is like Roomba..
Then you confine it to a room with the use of a device known as a "virtual wall". When Roomba gets near it, he makes an about face and goes the other way thereby keeping him confined to one room. We find it easier just to put a big bag of dry dog food in the doorways. It works just as good.
As far as corners go with Roomba, he has this wisker thing that spins out and goes along the baseboard kicking any dirt out from the area adjacent to the baseboard into the path of the roller brush. When you look at Roomba coming your way with this wisker whisking away, it does look quite imposing. Usually any dog that sees it coming will get out of its way. But it is effective.
Then you confine it to a room with the use of a device known as a "virtual wall". When Roomba gets near it, he makes an about face and goes the other way thereby keeping him confined to one room. We find it easier just to put a big bag of dry dog food in the doorways. It works just as good.
As far as corners go with Roomba, he has this wisker thing that spins out and goes along the baseboard kicking any dirt out from the area adjacent to the baseboard into the path of the roller brush. When you look at Roomba coming your way with this wisker whisking away, it does look quite imposing. Usually any dog that sees it coming will get out of its way. But it is effective.
whirlcool
Well-known member
If Scooba is like Roomba..
Then you confine it to a room with the use of a device known as a "virtual wall". When Roomba gets near it, he makes an about face and goes the other way thereby keeping him confined to one room. We find it easier just to put a big bag of dry dog food in the doorways. It works just as good.
As far as corners go with Roomba, he has this wisker thing that spins out and goes along the baseboard kicking any dirt out from the area adjacent to the baseboard into the path of the roller brush. When you look at Roomba coming your way with this wisker whisking away, it does look quite imposing. Usually any dog that sees it coming will get out of its way. But it is effective.
Then you confine it to a room with the use of a device known as a "virtual wall". When Roomba gets near it, he makes an about face and goes the other way thereby keeping him confined to one room. We find it easier just to put a big bag of dry dog food in the doorways. It works just as good.
As far as corners go with Roomba, he has this wisker thing that spins out and goes along the baseboard kicking any dirt out from the area adjacent to the baseboard into the path of the roller brush. When you look at Roomba coming your way with this wisker whisking away, it does look quite imposing. Usually any dog that sees it coming will get out of its way. But it is effective.
OK I think these vacs need accessories.
Perhaps a hard plastic shell type-of-thing to make it look like:
1- Pac-man
2- a mouse
3- a cat
4- smiley face and or other emote-icons
5- base-ball, basket-ball soccer-ball, football, etc.
6- French maid / cleaning hunk
7- Alien flying saucer
8- Sun, moon, star.
Perhaps a hard plastic shell type-of-thing to make it look like:
1- Pac-man
2- a mouse
3- a cat
4- smiley face and or other emote-icons
5- base-ball, basket-ball soccer-ball, football, etc.
6- French maid / cleaning hunk
7- Alien flying saucer
8- Sun, moon, star.
Designgeek
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2004
- Messages
- 865
Scooba seems like a great idea; mopping the kitchen floor is a pain in the buttski so it would be great to automate the process (yeah right, I'd spend the same amount of time watching the little critter scoot around the floor doing its thing).
I'm surprised the "whisker" side brush is as effective as it appears to be. Originally I envisioned the side brush as being more like what you see on street sweepers, a disc having bristles pointing down around its entire circumference so it doesn't miss anything. And there would be two of these, one on each side, so it could get up to walls on either side without having to turn around. If the design was done right, the side brush would be on a swinging arm connected to a sensor, to keep the machine following along the wall line.
It would start by going along the entire outer perimeter of a room using a reflective dot on the wall as a start-point, and then having "measured" the room (when it got back around to the dot), it would gradually spiral inward to the center of the room and when it got to the very center, it would be pivoting in its own length, which would be the "I'm done now, time to go home" signal, and cause it to seek out its charging station.
Toggle: "Roomba Skins" dude! You've got a product there. To that I would add, "Moon/Mars rover" (NASA logos), "futuristic street sweeper" (New York Sanitation logos), "tomorrow's Army" (olive drab or camouflage with Army logos, 10% of purchase price donated to veterans' organizations), "Trilobite" (patterned after the little sea creatures by that name whose fossils are well known), and "Ladybug," with a stylized version of the familiar black head and red body with black dots. We can of course do without the "giant spider" theme and the "cow pie" theme
Here's how to dog-proof it: a little off-balance sensor that shuts down the unit and beeps when it's turned more than 20 degrees from horizontal.
I'm surprised the "whisker" side brush is as effective as it appears to be. Originally I envisioned the side brush as being more like what you see on street sweepers, a disc having bristles pointing down around its entire circumference so it doesn't miss anything. And there would be two of these, one on each side, so it could get up to walls on either side without having to turn around. If the design was done right, the side brush would be on a swinging arm connected to a sensor, to keep the machine following along the wall line.
It would start by going along the entire outer perimeter of a room using a reflective dot on the wall as a start-point, and then having "measured" the room (when it got back around to the dot), it would gradually spiral inward to the center of the room and when it got to the very center, it would be pivoting in its own length, which would be the "I'm done now, time to go home" signal, and cause it to seek out its charging station.
Toggle: "Roomba Skins" dude! You've got a product there. To that I would add, "Moon/Mars rover" (NASA logos), "futuristic street sweeper" (New York Sanitation logos), "tomorrow's Army" (olive drab or camouflage with Army logos, 10% of purchase price donated to veterans' organizations), "Trilobite" (patterned after the little sea creatures by that name whose fossils are well known), and "Ladybug," with a stylized version of the familiar black head and red body with black dots. We can of course do without the "giant spider" theme and the "cow pie" theme
Here's how to dog-proof it: a little off-balance sensor that shuts down the unit and beeps when it's turned more than 20 degrees from horizontal.
Dude!
Right back at ya.
QUICK a patent.
*I WANT HALF* LOL
Right back at ya.
QUICK a patent.
*I WANT HALF* LOL
I was wondering, is the Roomba Discovery Knowledge the same model that sells here as the Roomba Scheduler?
I would love to see a fleet of Roombas at my workplace-replace the janitors that sit in the back of the building and loaf--wonder if the RF from the transmitters would bother them?They would be fun to watch-and all of that bare floor area they could do!!Those "Whisker things" would have PLENTY of dead bugs to flip around!
roomba scheduler is roomba discovery knowledge with an upgrade. irobot dumped the knowledge part of the name shortly after it arrived in the U.S. of A. Scooba has a virtual wall 2. You can use roomba's virtual wall for scooba and visa versa. I have found that roomba can clean more than one room at a time with Max cleaning on. Usually i use max mode for my deep piled carpets and it works fine. Depending on what side the dog picked it up the Roomba stair sensors would recognise that and shut roomba off giving the "Uh oh" beep.
Pictures coming soon. To those of you with real player you might be able to view a really low def video
Pictures coming soon. To those of you with real player you might be able to view a really low def video
