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Roomba Review - your #1 source for robotic reviews, tips, news and more.
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Update! The largest, most complete roundup review and comparison of all of the newest robotic vacuum cleaners is now posted in our Reviews section. Check out the Reviews section for the shootout between the Roomba Discovery, The Sharper Image eVac, the Applica Zoombot and the Roomba Pro Elite. When you've decided which model you want to buy, you can Find the Best Prices on all robotic vacuums in our price search section.
And for the very latest updates, user reviews and to post your own questions and feedback, please feel free to visit our discussion forum.
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Latest updates:
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Thought you'd seen it all? In what is almost certainly a first, one of our forum members has actually created a website that is dedicated exclusively to providing live streaming footage of a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner in action!
Unfortunately, VacuumCleanerLive is only actually "Live" for a couple of hours per day, but for those who are too impatient to wait for the Roomba to wake up, you can watch recorded video from a couple of it's past exciting adventures here. So just in case you've ever been dying to experience life through the eyes of a Roomba robot, your prayers have finally been answered!
This topic is currently being discussed in the following thread. |
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| Saturday, December 31, 2005 |
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iRobot is now taking orders for the new OSMO//Hacker tool for the Roomba Discovery series of robotic vacs.
"Upgrades your iRobot Roomba with the Serial Command Interface for software programmers and roboticists to modify Roomba's behavior."
All Roombas manufactured after October, 2005 already contain the software interface required to control or modify the Roombas behavior. All models manufactured prior to October, 2005 can be upgraded using the new OSMO//Hacker.
It is available directly from iRobot for $30.
Here is the link to purchase the new OSMO//Hacker from iRobot. |
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| Thursday, December 15, 2005 |
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Roombas manufactured after October 2005 contain an electronic and software interface that allows you to control or modify Roomba's behavior and remotely monitor its sensors. This interface is called the Roomba Serial Control Interface or Roomba SCI. If you are a Roomba owner, your Roomba can be upgraded... This update is not a necessary enhancement for Roomba owners, rather it is intended for software programmers and roboticists to create their own enhancements to Roomba.
The SCI is compatible with all 41xx and 42xx series Roomba models, but is not compatible with the original Roomba.
The specification for the SCI is here.
Roomba owners: Determine if your Roomba has the SCI
New Roombas with the SCI code already installed are sealed inside their plastic bag with a sticker that reads:
“This robot contains an electronic and software interface…”
If you don’t have the original packaging, you can determine Roomba’s date code from the serial number sticker inside Roomba’s battery well.
The date needs to be later than October 24th, 2005
To upgrade a Roomba manufactured before October 24th, 2005 you will need to purchase a Roomba Osmo //hacker. The Osmo //hacker will be available directly from this page on January 1st, 2006. There are two Osmo //hacker models, one is blue and one is smoke colored. You must read your Roomba serial number to determine which Osmo to purchase....
No support
The Roomba SCI is an unsupported feature, therefore customer support questions will not be answered. Additionally, modifications to Roomba will void the warranty. Use the SCI at your own risk.
This topic is currently being discussed in the following thread.
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| Wednesday, December 7, 2005 |
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ichiban_jay has posted pictures and a small review of the Metapo CleanMate 365 - an entry level robotic vacuum that retails for $88 at Geeks.com
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| Tuesday, November 29, 2005 |
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BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2005--iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ:IRBT) today announced the iRobot(R) Scooba(TM) Floor Washing Robot has been honored with the International Consumer Electronic Showcase (CES) "Best of Innovations Design and Engineering" Award in the Home Appliance category. Scooba is the first floor washing robot available for home use. The robot was selected as a winner from a pool of more than 1,000 entries from 164 companies.
Each year since 1989, the International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards recognize the newest consumer electronic technologies that exhibit excellence in design and engineering. Best of Innovations Awards are given to the highly honored products in this group. Last year, the iRobot Roomba(R) Discovery Vacuuming Robot received the award in the Home Appliance category. "This marks the second year in a row that CES recognized an iRobot product as one of its most innovative technologies," said Greg White, executive vice president and general manager, iRobot. "The Scooba builds on the success of the Roomba Vacuuming Robot, taking the utility of home robots to a new level." Scooba's innovative cleaning process allows the robot to simultaneously prep, wash, scrub and dry hard floors, all at the touch of a button. Unlike a conventional mop that spreads dirty water on the floor, Scooba applies only fresh water and cleaning solution to the floor from a clean tank. Scooba can clean wet spills in addition to dirt and grime, and it is safe for use on all sealed, hard floor surfaces, including wood and tile. The iRobot Scooba Floor Washing Robot will be available at retail outlets in the first quarter of 2006 and can be pre-ordered online at irobot.com. |
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| Thursday, November 10, 2005 |
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"CEO says money will be used to fund acquisitionsWith its PackBot becoming the first robot to ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York yesterday, Burlington's iRobot Corp. made its debut as a public company and shot up 11.25 percent for the day. Angle said the IPO succeeded because ''we were able to convey to potential investors that the age of practical robots is upon us." With the company's Roomba vacuum cleaning robots now in about 1 percent of American households, there is plenty of room for growth both here and abroad, he said. ''These robots are not gadgets for the digerati," Angle said. ''They're serious household appliances." |
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| Wednesday, November 2, 2005 |
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iRobot is now accepting pre-orders for the Scooba - The world's first robotic floor washer. iRobot is estimating delivery in 8-10 weeks, so it would appear that if it does ship before Christmas, pre-ordering might be the only way to receive it before then.
The Scooba preps, washes, scrubs and dries your floor - all by itself.
You can pre-order the Scooba here. |
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| Saturday, October 15, 2005 |
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iRobot has done a major revision to it's website. Check it out here:
http://www.irobot.com
The new website includes more thorough and updated information, all new sections, new pictures, a new streamlined, easier to navigate design, as well as an all new international section that should be extremely useful for people outside the US. Check out the new international page here:
http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=136
The new site also includes new product videos, such as one for Roomba Scheduler, this video shows the same Coverage Per Room comparison video that was shown on HSN for the 2.1, it also includes an excellent example of Roomba automaticaly adjusting to a different floor type, very cool. Check out the new Roomba Scheduler video and more info on the Roomba at the new Home Robots section here:
http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=122
The new site includes a redesigned iRobot Store section, and as soon as you go there you can see special promotions and offers on iRobot's products. Now get this, when you go there now you can see an absolutely crazy deal which gives you $100 worth of accessories for FREE! Check it out here:
http://www.irobotstore.com |
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| Sunday, September 25, 2005 |
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First came the scheduler pack, which was the first product released by iRobot that had the ability to upgrade the firmware of the Roomba to give it new capabilities, and now we are hearing reports that technical support has been sending out the Roomba OSMO to update the firmware on your Roomba with an apparant fix for the dreaded 'circle dance'.
madrid sent in pictures of the device, along with reports that not only did it fix her circle dance problem, but it improved performance as well. It would seem that it incorporates many, if not all of the 2.1 firmware updates - which is great news for all of those people who don't want to spend $59 on the scheduler pack to upgrade their Roomba to 2.1.
This topic is currently being discussed in this thread. |
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| Saturday, September 10, 2005 |
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Diane from Hammacher Schlemmer has confirmed that the 20+ hardware and software enhancements from the new 2.1 version are now included in the Roomba Discovery SE, and all new Roomba Discovery SE's sold by Hammacher Schlemmer include all of the following enhancements:
iRobot's new AWARE robotic intelligence provides greater room coverage.
A redesigned cleaning system with improved brushes which improves brush contact with floors and gives you better cleaning efficiency.
Easier cleaning.
Improved robot durability.
New brush bearings resist hair build up.
New Software that improves Roomba's cleaning efficiency.
Improved charge circuitry to provide longer overall battery life.
Improved side brush design.
Improved balance of the vacuum impeller.
Improved vacuum bin contacts.
Improved wire routing for system durability.
Optimized sensors for system efficiency.
Overall 20 enhancements to both hardware and software.
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"iRobot Corp., the maker of the Roomba floor vacuuming robot and PackBot tactical military robots, filed with regulators on Wednesday to raise up to $115 million in an initial public offering of common stock.The Burlington, Massachusetts, company said in a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan are the lead underwriters for the offering." |
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HSN is now carrying a new version of the Roomba 2.1. The old model number was 4130, this model number is 4136.
<Update>
crestedmom pointed out that this is most likely just a new bundle of the 4130.
The new bundle contains 2 virtual walls, 5 extra filters, and the wireless remote control. The old bundle had only 1 virtual wall, 1 extra filter, the remote control and the homebase, but was priced $50 higher.
This topic is currently being discussed in this thread. |
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