Inexpensive - Yes! / Cheap - No Way!

Although Roomba is certainly a triumph, it's hardly the first robot to appear on the scene. It's not even the first advanced robot meant for the home: that title belongs to the Aibo, Sony's $3,000+ robot dog that does almost everything a real dog can, but for a whole lot more money. Yet if an Aibo has ever done anything remotely useful around the house, no one has ever recorded it.

Arguably, iRobot's greatest triumph isn't that they introduced the first viable household robot: it's that they produced the first viable household robot that's affordable. That's a major distinction, because if Roomba cost $3,000, iRobot surely wouldn't have sold over 1.5 million units by now. Roomba starts at a mere $119, and goes up to $500; for the price of an Aibo, which is surely a wonderful toy, you can buy 10 or 15 Roombas, enough for several houses. And don't confuse affordability with cheapness in the "tawdry" sense. Roombas are highly sophisticated robots for their size, a fact that technology geeks of all ages have long since realized. There's a whole community of folks who love to take Roombas apart and experiment with them, since for the price any Roomba is an ideal robotics experimentation platform. They call their souped-up models Zoombas. But Zoombas may soon be a thing of the past: in 2007, the iRobot Create was introduced. The Create, a basic Roomba-style robot made specifically for developers to build on. You can buy everything from a stripped down model to a top-of-the-line premium developmental package -- and yes, we're going to tease you here and tell you that we'll discuss that new model in more detail later, too!

Like all robots, Roomba needs some occasional interaction. For example, it hasn't figured out (yet) how to empty its own dust collector, which is where all the dirt and goodies like cereal and pennies end up. You'll have to do that yourself. Our first hand use of several different models has shown that it is best to clean the bins and rollers after every run – especially if you have pets. But we know this isn’t always possible. However, the newer models will stop dead in their tracks if they are full and when you push a button – Roomba’s voice system will tell you why it stopped and how to fix the problem. Otherwise, Roomba can pretty much handle itself, up to and including knowing where it's been before, where to stop, and where to go to plug itself back in.

And alas, Roomba can't replace worn out parts (yet!) so you'll have to help with that, too. Fortunately, iRobot's not one of those companies that lure you in with a great, inexpensive product, only to nickel-and-dime you to death with replacement parts such as new rollers and filters. And don’t forget you have that one year warranty (with some models even two years) so any defective part or robot will be replaced free of charge.

November 2008: Latest updates are in green.

On to part six:

• Cool Add-Ons and Accessories
  • Back to Roomba Guide Index