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from the when-a-business-sucks-and-it's-a-good-thing dept.
Robot vacuums may have once seemed an eccentricity, but they now represent a non-trivial portion of the overall vacuum market – 20 percent worldwide, according to iRobot CEO and co-founder Colin Angle, who I spoke to at TechCrunch Beijing 2016. And Roomba makes up 70 percent of that market, giving iRobot a commanding lead in the space.
Exactly how many robots does that translate to? Over 14 million Roombas sold to date, Angle said, which is a steady business for a consumer product that starts at a price point that tends to be a bit higher than your average human-powered home cleaning hardware.
iRobot's lead in the market should be easily defensible, Angle says, because the company has a long lead in terms of working on the problem, and because it's focused on consumer home cleaning products exclusively. iRobot's become even more focused of late, since the company recently divested itself of its defense and security robotics division and is now focused entirely on the home consumer space.
Do any Soylentils have a Roomba or some other automated cleaning system? What has your experience been like? How well does it work? What improvements are needed?
[Ed Note: A Robot Vacuum Cautionary Tale]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 10 2016, @02:17PM
I've been thinking about getting a Roomba for a few years now. The only thing that makes me hesitate is that I have this nasty dust mite allergy. I'm concerned that it may make my allergies worse by kicking up dust (I can't even use a normal vacuum cleaner due to the dust).
Has anyone here with dust-related allergies purchased one? Did your allergies change? For the better or for worse?
(Score: 2) by MadTinfoilHatter on Thursday November 10 2016, @03:44PM
I'm concerned that it may make my allergies worse by kicking up dust (I can't even use a normal vacuum cleaner due to the dust).
If you're that allergic, I would expect that emptying/cleaning the Roomba after it's done would be your death. :-P
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 10 2016, @05:03PM
They're not self-emptying? D:
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 10 2016, @06:21PM
We bought a house from the 1960s and a previous owner had installed a whole-house vacuum system. At the time of purchase I didn't think too much about it, but now I'm completely sold. For people with allergies, this system vacuums in the house, collects most of the dirt in a large canister in the basement and sends the exhaust air OUTSIDE. The heck with HEPA filters, there is zero dust thrown around indoors.
Another advantage of this vacuum with a long hose (and several outlets around the house) is that it's easy to get to elevated areas, shelves and the top of door moldings.
For the two of us, I empty the basement canister every two years. I cover the top after removing it from the motor, take outside and dump into a garbage bag...on a calm day.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday November 10 2016, @09:07PM
Huh, never heard of that before. Thanks for posting.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 11 2016, @04:55AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_vacuum_cleaner#Health_benefits [wikipedia.org]
Ours is Sears branded, don't know actual maker, added to our house in the 1980s along with a kitchen reno. Has a large powerful motor and centrifugal fan, much more suck than any portable vacuum I've used (except for large shop vac). Noisy as hell up close, but it's in the basement, quieter than a portable vac as long as I keep the basement door closed.
The switches are at the wall plate where the hose plugs in, so the hoses are just hoses. I'm suspicious of newer designs that also run a wire along the hose so that the power can be switched at the end of the hose--much more expensive hose and another point of failure.
Where did you grow up that you never saw one of these? I knew about them as a kid (rust belt suburbs), just never appreciated them until I lucked into one.