Fall Cleaning

Fall is upon us and one of the things I really don't enjoy is picking up leaves. Lucky for me, I have now relocated to the sunshine state and I don't have to go through the fall exercise, not yet anyways.

But for those of you in the northern part of the country, iRobot has heard your cries of pain and has invented a Gutter Cleaning Robot. The robot, fondly named Looj, is capable of cleaning up to 60ft in just under 10 minutes.

The robot requires that you still break out the ladder, which is a major undertaking for some folks. I know I always had trouble in trying to get to the top most gutter in my three story home. iRobot promises that it is a simple setup:

• Set your ladder in one secure position and place the robot in the gutter


• Attach the robot to your belt and climb the ladder using both hands


• Place the robot in the gutter and remove the detachable handle/remote

For a video on this click here.

There are three models available, the 120, 130, and 150, ranging in cost from $99 to $170. The difference in the models vary from having a Belt clip, 3-stage gutter cleaning auger, Looj holster, and a High power battery pack. To see the exact difference, visit the iRobot site.

With such an item available just in time for fall, there is no reason why your gutters should be clean. A clean gutter means proper drainage for the winter months to come.

Independent Robots

A while back I remember watching Robin Williams portray the part of a robot in the film Artificial Intelligence and thinking that someday technology would get there.

Well that day is not yet today, but China has gotten closer. A new breed of robots have been produced that not only clean your house, but are capable of charging their own batteries once they reach their threshold. This self service robot measuring but 14.3 inches in width and 4.8 inches in height was developed by Harbin University in the northern province of Heilongjiang, China.

The part vacuum, part mobile robot, which is expected to be mass produced within the next few years, will retail for approximately $200.

The intelligence of the machine has been designed and developed to be far superior and smarter than any other in the market today therefore allowing the robot to be very agile and perform its job avoiding all obstacle found in the traditional home.

With such a competitive price and ability I would not be surprise to see this unit produced sooner and see higher demands than that of a roomba. We may even find the market in a frenzy for the little guy surpassing that of tickle me Elmo a few years back.