Group 1: Cameron Aiton, Nicholas Fitzpatrick, Dinh Huynh, Chris MacDonald

iRobot Roomba - Where Will Advance In Robotics Take Us?

Human beings have always attempted to capitalize on what creates the most easy and comfortable situations for themselves. Therefore, it is only natural for us to have delved into technologies that can eliminate the human element altogether. The Roomba vacuum takes this idea to an entirely new level!

Overview
The Roomba is a self-sufficient miniature robotic device, created by the iRobot corporation with the intent on making the household work done by humans a trend of the past. Using infrared lasers as well as touch sensors the Roomba is a mid-range example (in terms of price and functionality) of human ingenuity and the desire to allocate ourselves more time on pleasurable tasks than the drudgery of every-day household chores. As far as robotic vacuums go, the Roomba is relatively price conscious and yet provides much of the functionality of the heavier priced models such as Electrolux's Trilobite 2.0, priced at nearly eight times the Roomba's price! Though obviously lacking in some aspects (due mostly to costs) such as Sonar technology, providing better guidance systems and functionality; as well as additional complex cleaning algorithms that maximize on time and efficiency.

History
iRobot was founded in 1990 by MIT roboticists and their professor, Dr. Rodney Brooks. They began the company in hopes of making everyday robots which were useful and practical. Since then, iRobot has become a leader in the robotics industry, building not only robots for the common household but also robots for government and industrial use. Beginning with only the three employees, iRobot has grown to employ over 400 robotic professionals, and is a $300+ million dollar public enterprise.

The Roomba, a light-weight robotic vacuum, was engineered and produced in mass by the company iRobot. The new product was released for public use around the Christmas season late 2002, retailing for around $200. This little robot attracted much skepticism upon its initial release, questioning its practicality and viability within the household, such as the following: How could a dinner-plate circle actually pick up dirt? How much could it hold before it got full? Would people really want to deal with this thing roaming around their home? How noisy was it? What happens when power runs out?

Questions were soon answered as the Roombas sold by the thousands and was praised by many for it's usefulness around the house.

In 2004, the product line was split into two halves. One line was Roomba Red which is more affordable, selling at $150, it had a 7 hour charge time and its operation was very basic. The other line was Roomba Discovery, selling at $250, which only charged within 3 hours and could run 2 hours straight. The unique thing about this line is that it could even find its home base all by itself to be charged, whereas the first line could not.

In 2005, iRobot engineers added in a scheduler. The scheduler lets the user choose when the Roomba will run and end its cleaning work around the house.

Current Models and Prices


The iRobot Roomba now has 10 models ranging from $129.99 up to $549.99. The models and prices are as follows:

400 - $129.99

410 - $149.99

416 - $199.99

510 - $279.99

530 - $299.99

532 Pet Series - $349.99

560 - $379.99

562 Pet Series - $399.99

570 - $429.99

610 Professional Series - $549.99

Technology, Design, and Functionality
iRobot's innovative Roomba vacuuming robot is small and round, coming in a variety of colours for the different model levels. Each Roomba comes with a "Clean" button located on top, which when pressed sets the Roomba into action cleaning the house. All models also have a sensor located on a light touch bumper, which wrap around the front of the machine and allow it to detect walls, tables, legs, sofas and any other obstacles. Once these are softly bumped into, the Roomba will spin in another direction and continue on its way. Some of the higher end models also include virtual walls, which branch out from "Light houses" that the owner can place in front of areas they do not wish the Roomba to enter. This incredible vacuum can also find areas of your floor that have a higher dirt content, where it will stop and more thoroughly clean said area. When the Roomba has completed its cleaning duties, or it is beginning to run out of power, it will automatically return to its docking station to recharge. There is also a "Dock" button which the user may press to return the Roomba to its dock early.

Pros
1) For those who don't don't like the repetitive task of vacuuming!

2) Save yourself some time during the course of the day.

3) Gets into those hard to reach places such as under the couch, bed, and even under dressers!

4) Innovative, spinning side brush removes accumulated debris along kickboards, cabinet edges and corners

4) Picks up dirt well for its size.

5) Price is comparable to customary vacuums but with potentially less hassle.

6) Relatively quiet in comparison to other stand-up vacuums.

7) Has a fully programmable interface provided by iRobot for robotic enthusiasts that wish to get the most potential bang-for-their-buck.

Cons
1) You will need to empty out the dirt about half way through the room (depending on level of initial cleanliness)

2) Walk around the room and pick up any objects with shard 90 degree points (as it's infrared sensors are unable to detect them much of the time).

3) Large pieces of paper, buttons, and string, and cables for your television can cause your vacuum to jam.

4) Stopping to fix the Roomba may take away more time from your day than you had bought it to save.

5) Conventional vacuum cleaners still required to clean any stairs in your house or plush carpets.

6) On carpets, it lacks the high-powered motor of stand-up vacuums and therefore lacks the ability to clean as deeply.

7) Does not replace the conventional vacuum cleaner, and in fact is only recommened to be used for every-day cleaning (while it is still recommended to use stand up vacuums for once weekly cleanings)

Effect on Robotics
The Roomba has permeated the household market and pushed consumer based development of robotics to new heights; further developing self-sufficient robotic 'intelligence'. Since the unveiling of the Roomba, iRobot has also released Scooba floor washer, the Dirt Dog shop sweeper, the Verro pool cleaner and Looj gutter cleaner for home convenience. iRobot has also come out with many government and idustrial robots including the Seaglider and the Ranger which are UUV’s (Unmanned Underwater Vehicles). They are also currently developing SUGV’s (Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles).

An Emotional Robot
Using an OCZ NIA headband to detect bio-electrical signals from the users forehead, specially equipped Roomba robots can now detect human emotion, and run itself accordingly. The users muscle tension (interpreted as stress level) is collected by the headband and reinterpreted by the Roomba. According to the users mood, the robots behavior will be modified.

""Two distinct robotic behaviours corresponding to two extreme emotional states, either relaxed or stressed, are triggered when the stress reading reach a threshold. Robot actions are then influenced by these stress readings. When a person shows high stress (~levels 3 & 4), the robot enters its cleaning mode but moves away from the user so as not annoy them. When a person is relaxed (~level 1), the robot (if cleaning) approaches the person and then stops, simulating a pet sitting next to its owner. If the reading is in between these two levels, the robot continues operating in its current mode until the stress reading reaches a threshold." - Livescience.com

This is an astounding breakthrough, as the machine could now be controlled implicitly through emotion as opposed to the user physically commanding it to act. This a spectacular and extremely complicated undertaking, but the amazing scientists at the University of Calgary have accomplished it.

Conclusion
The iRobot Roomba is an amazing piece of technology, and something that could make the lives of many homeowners much easier. Despite the fact that all cords in which the Roomba could get caught up in must be off the floor, this is still an essentially hassle-free vacuum replacement. An incredible time saver, and something to impress friends and family with.

Group Members References
Dinh Huynh References

1) http://www.irobot.com/hrd_right_rail/roomba_rr/roomba_fam/RoombaFam_rr_howitworks.html

2) http://www.hammacher.com/publish/74520.asp?source=google&keyword=roomba&cm_ven=NewGate&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Roomba&cm_ite=roomba

3) http://www.lisashea.com/lisabase/cleaning/roomba/history.html

4) http://roomba.pbwiki.com/

5) http://www.irobot.com/hrd_right_rail/roomba_rr/roomba_fam/RoombaFam_rr_faqs.html

6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roomba

7) http://store.irobot.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3334619&camp=Google

8) http://www.irobot.com/hrd_right_rail/roomba_rr/roomba_fam/RoombaFam_rr_tips.html

9) http://reviews.cnet.com/robots-and-robot-kits/irobot-roomba-discovery/4505-3510_7-30975237.html

10) http://www.geek.com/articles/news/roomba-robot-detects-stressed-humans-and-avoids-them-20090318/

Cameron Aiton's References:

1) http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=74

2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roomba

3) http://www.roboticvacuums.net/

4) http://www.roboticvacuums.net/articles/roomba-comparison-chart.html

5) http://store.irobot.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3334619&cp=2804605&ab=CMS_RobotSuper_Roomba_031709

6) http://www.roomba.com.au/

7) http://www1.epinions.com/reviews/pr-Roomba_4210_Vacuum

8) http://www.androidtech.com/reviews-blog/2006/01/reviews-on-roomba_13.html

9)http://store.irobot.com/home/index.jsp

10)http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000024.php

Nick Fitzpatrick's References:

1) http://www.aaai.org/Papers/Symposia/Fall/1993/FS-93-03/FS93-03-023.pdf

2) http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=51978

3) http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=766149&dl=GUIDE&coll=GUIDE&CFID=29837082&CFTOKEN=43050997

4) http://do.whileloop.org/research/papers/1514-091.pdf

5) http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1067862&dl=GUIDE&coll=GUIDE&CFID=29837082&CFTOKEN=43050997

6) http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1107548.1107615

7) http://eprints.kfupm.edu.sa/58118/

8) http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1121241.1121286

9) http://www.springerlink.com/content/k1717836j252p4w0/

10) http://do.whileloop.org/research/papers/1514-091.pdf

Chris MacDonald's References:

1) http://www.time.com/time/roomba/

2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roomba

3) http://www.livescience.com/technology/090328-roomba-emotions.html

4) http://www.paulsaulnier.ca/academic/robot_emotional_control/

5) http://www.paulsaulnier.ca/academic/robot_emotional_control/publications/2009-BioElectrical.HRI.pdf

6) http://wrightreports.ecnext.com/coms2/reportdesc_COMPANY_462726100

7) http://www.flickr.com/photos/eiriknewth/282268782/

8) http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=3159

9) http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=74

10) http://store.irobot.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2501652&cp=2804605&ab=CMS_RoombaCatImage_102308