Neato's Robot Vacuum Is A Roomba Killer
singularityhub.com
singularityhub.com
Consumers don't care how the robot works. They just care that it does. The whole point of robotics is to not care about the problem. Who cares if there is a map?
I also don't think people can say a roomba is dumb. It is designed with few sensors, but the software under the hood is actually why it is good. It uses lisp in a subsumption architecture, compiled down to run on a dirt cheap processor. Most companies couldn't compete with this on a cost basis if they tried. Here we see more CPU and sensors thrown at the problem, which is much more expensive.
So yes, while they won't care how it works, they will like that it vacuums like they do. And that means something.
The scale really does matter too. Software and hardware are very different businesses. If they don't get to a sufficient scale, their cost per unit will be higher, and their margins much smaller.
I'm on my second Roomba now, and I love the thing to death.. However.. The fact that it bumps around randomly for a very long time while missing obvious spots can truly suck. Your Roomba can go several whole cleaning missions without ever touching a given spot, or mostly ignore half your floorplan for whatever reason (i.e. the shape of the room). Neato appears to be planning to sell this thing for $399, which is around the same price range as a Roomba. If there turns out to be a price premium when this thing hits the market, it will be well worth it if it turns out this thing works better due to the allegedly-expensive software and hardware.
And that's the whole point -- what it comes down to is not nerd-love or whatever, but that it really works. Every single person that I've ever met and discussed my Roomba with asked the same first question: "does it actually work? does it map out your room? no? so how does it make sure that it hits every spot?".
I can reply with iRobot's hopeful marketing or I can tell the truth: it works pretty well, but not as well as you'd expect. A device that would actually ensure every spot is visited once, whatever the method, is going to be a winner, all other things equal.
I think consumers, geeky or not, have the capacity to both care that a device works and spot obvious methodological drawbacks.
If Neato can come up with something that does clean the floor, regardless of tech/cost/whatever it surely has a chance to be successful.
The marketing via Singularity Hub blog posts is likely to be more geek/tech focused than any general consumer push they might do, too.
I owned a Roomba and set it to run while I was at work. I would never see it operate. I just emptied it every day.
However the chaotic way in which it patrols does mean it cannot replace a conventional vacuum for the roles of spot cleaning or for a touch-up just before guests arrive. It completely falls down in that role. Even using its spot cleaning mode it would miss a fair amount of obvious debris even if it was placed right on the most concentrated areas. And for touch-up before a guest arrives? You better have a conventional vacuum. Sometimes it would be unable to exit rooms even with the guidance beacons. I would circle around and never be able to get out of a conventional doorway. I'd find it dead in one of the two rooms I wanted it to do for the day, and found evidence that it didn't tackle a room at all. About once a week. And this was a 5th generation model.
To me, the Roomba was to complement your existing upright or canister vacuum and was incapable of replacing it entirely. There would be greater success for a product that could replace a conventional vacuum entirely.
Finally, being able to set my robot buddy cleaning while I frantically get ready for guests is a fabulous boon.
I know the Roomba wouldn't have survived my rabbit, too many raised plastic edges and no ability to avoid him. I would be interested in seeing if the Neato would be capable of entering my rabbits territory over concurrent visits. Although I'd definitely have nightmares of the rabbit hijacking the Neato.
On the upside, it gave me a chance to take the thing apart completely. Roombas are very meticulously designed and are built for being taken apart. It matches up completely with their policy for allowing and encouraging modification of the firmware.
I just wish I didn't have to deal with feces to learn that :S
I think neato needs to differentiate themselves through some other means. Roomba has the mind-share and brand name (though neato is a good name).
For someone living in the city in a small apartment this really isn't worth it yet.
I've got a stack of dead Roombas that have been pretty disappointing overall.
In the meantime she found a (slightly) more intelligent vacuuming device.
Gee. Aren't patents awesome?