A lot of readers want to know how my Christmas present –the Roomba 4100 Red–is working. So far, so good! I use it on the main level of our house, which has hardwood floors in the dining room, living room, and playroom, and linoleum tile in the foyer and kitchen. You won’t believe how much hair, crumbs, dirt, and debris the bin can hold. The virtual wall thingie, which emits an invisible barrier, really works. I need two or three more of those to keep the Roomba out of a couple corners and away from the piano. I also just ordered the self-charging home base.

(Swanky Conservative’s wife got one for Christmas, too, and posts video to show that it won’t fall off the stairs!)

The technology is amazing. Here’s an interesting interview with Roomba’s inventor and iRobot chairman/cofounder, Helen Griener. She predicts:

[I]n 30 years chores around the house will be a thing of the past. The robots will have evolved from automatic appliances to home automations systems. iRobot (and others) will be selling clean floor, clear windows, organized closets, mowed lawns, sparkling toilets, and dust-free surfaces that the consumer never has to think about. The robots just come out and do the job when it needs to be done.

Well, Roomba is cool and all, but they’ll never invent a robot that can scrape off Cheerios and unearth Goldfish crackers buried in the living room couch.

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