That’s why the red tape marking the maze is really only there for the video. The player sees a virtual representation on screen, and the ghost roombas use internal odometry with a positioning system to find their way around and avoid each other.

Now they just need those LED-lights that make Pac-Man chomp in the dark. [Roomba Pac-Man via Engadget]

Built using our spare time, Roomba Pac-Man is designed to showcase the extensive Unmanned Aerial System software suite that we have developed to support our personal research. It was also a great opportunity to use some of our skills for our own entertainment. As a disclaimer, our research centre, RECUV, is not affiliated with the project, and the work done here, while utilizing some software we were paid to develop at CU, is the sole creation of those listed at the bottom of the page.

Granted, there’s at least the peace of mind that this pervy lil’ vacuum has enough sensors to avoid me properly after making me feel violated. [Akihabara News]

The Price

D31 (orange): $US220
D31 Animal (purple): $US270

The Difference

The stock D31 and the D31 Animal are essentially the same vacuum. They contain the same motor, the same battery capacity and the same accessories…save for one. The Animal has a motorised hair-scraping attachment (familiar to many Dyson users) that requires a power line be run to the nozzle. Otherwise, they’re pretty much identical.

The Results: After about three days of my cat’s lounging, our couch tops get wretched. Our general solution is to take a vacuum hose, then do a cleanup with one of those sticky pet hair brushes. It’s labour intensive, and I’d be lying if I said we were willing to go through the process more than once a week. So I tried the D31 Animal. Pulling the trigger, it whirs to 0-100 instantly, like a power drill, while a hairdryer-worthy gust of air fires from the back.

Couch before Animal attack.

Couch after Animal attack.

Here’s our couch before and after about five minutes of vacuuming with the Animal. Eighty per cent of the hair came up after two quick passes—really impressive stuff. But that last 20 per cent stuck around for a while. And even after several minutes, and even hitting the boost power button, the results weren’t perfect (you can see a few stubborn stray hairs). But they were adequate—and maybe even more importantly—as successful as my full-sized standup Animal vacuum (which has worked better than other nice vacuums I’ve tried). That’s pretty impressive since we’re talking about a 1kg handheld vac.

Other vacuuming jobs are less exciting, but completely effective. Using the brush and corner attachment, any little particle you can imagine disappears into the machine. I can’t imagine a small job it couldn’t handle other than carpets. If you want to spot clean your rug, the base D31 doesn’t really have an attachment for that (the Animal brush sorta works with a price premium). But dust, loose dirty, little pieces of unidentified food—no problem. And all the junk empties out of the one-button release hatch at the bottom of the collection tank…save for fur, which will make you dig a bit.

The Nitpicking

I’d like one feature added to the D31/Animal: cruise control. As pitiful as this sounds, it gets tiring holding down the button. I know. Mock me. But while the vacuum is light as can be to your arm, your hand still gets exhausted squeezing the trigger.

You’ll also only get 10 minutes of run time (or 6 in high power mode) for 3.5 hours of charging. That’s actually more than enough time to complete most work (you don’t really go nonstop with anything but pet hair), but when you run out of juice (the device goes from 100% per centto none without warning) you can’t just continue vacuuming with a power cord. You’ll need to recharge and wait.

The Practicality

Ignoring the price for a moment, I wonder who would actually need this much power in a handvac—other than for the obvious—pet owners. Because the D31 can’t (and isn’t trying to) replace a full-sized vacuum, meaning it’s only going to serve as backup. But then again, if you have the extra cash to pick up one of your own, maybe your chief concern isn’t one of pure practicality. And I can’t completely fault you for that. [Dyson]

Light and manageable design

Lots and lots of power

The Animal attachment cuts through hair well

Run time is adequate but not very long

Trigger can be tiring to hold

No carpet attachment for spot cleaning

I mean, obviously, we’re talking about $US220+ dust busters here

Two men were working on a waterborne excavator when it collapsed and pinned one underwater—just deep enough to make breathing mostly impossible. Jumping into action, witness David Thomson ripped off his clothes and dove into the chilling waters to rescue the dying man, known only as John.

Struggling to keep John’s airways above water, Thomson yelled for someone to find him a tube, snorkel, funnel or anything he could use to transfer air down to keep him alive. A witness was able to find a vacuum cleaner hose in Thomson’s own boat-rental kiosk. Thomson used the hose to blow air into John’s lungs until the paramedics arrived, 10 minutes after the excavator had originally collapsed.

Thomson and John’s unidentified coworker have been recommended for bravery awards. Sure, it’s very brave of Thomson, but I could only hope that the hose hadn’t just been used for vacuuming up spiders—or God knows what else—before it was converted into a breathing apparatus. [The Age via AdelaideNow]

The Roomba autonomous vacuum / kitten transportation vehicle may be able to go potty all by itself like its cuddly counterparts if these patent applications from iRobot ever come to fruition.

Apparently, there are at least a dozen designs have been considered—designs that would turn the Roomba dock into a litter box of sorts. There are no guarantees that we will see a Roomba capable of cleaning itself anytime in the near future, but it does seem like the next logical step. [Robot Stock News]

The Price: $US549

The Verdict: Although the Roomba Pro—which we lovingly dubbed “Calculon Jr.”—is meant to be the tough, industrial one of the Roomba series, there are times it acted less like a machine, and more like a rebellious child with ADD. This would be a good cleaning device for industrial sized rooms despite its drawbacks, but it’s too big and too loud for apartments.

The Pro is supposed to run on four different cleaning paterns: spiralling, wall following, room crossing, and dirt detection—all seemingly random unless you’re familiar with the paths and AI its creators programmed for it.

After directing Calculon Jr. to find his “home,” he only managed to dock himself—even when physically placed next to the docking station—twice out of five tries. Moreover, the Roomba is extremely loud, so I wouldn’t bother trying to watch TV when the Roomba Pro is running—(unless he’s cleaning a different room, which can be sanctioned off using the two included virtual walls, which worked fine with two C batteries).

One cool feature about the Roomba Pro is how simple it is to schedule a cleaning time—which can be set up to once a day, seven times a week—by using the built-in display that also tells the time and day. However, the display can only be seen if you keep the “clock” button held down.

When trying to clean up cookie crumbs and sunflower seeds, Calculon Jr.’s side brush would scatter the mess in different directions instead of sweeping it up into his vacuum. However, if you let your Roomba Pro run around for quite some time—or if you place him directly on top of the mess—he does a quite thorough job of cleaning up the dirt and debris on the floor, as long as it is an open space.

Here’s where the Roomba Pro differentiates itself from its smaller brothers. Because of the Pro’s larger size, it is unable to get to the dirt under smaller areas—such as the spaces under counters and couches. Similarly, when Calculon Jr. was placed under a table, it took him a while to manoeuvre around/between the chairs, and try to find his way out from under. When it is unable to do so, the Roomba Pro will automatically shut itself off.

Because it’s a Pro model designed for offices and bed & breakfasts, it comes with various spare parts that owners can use to self-repair. It would’ve been nice if the Roomba Pro came with a remote, but in addition to what comes already attached, the box has two brushes, a high capacity sweeper bin (which, according to the instruction manual, you’re still instructed to clean out after every use), two filters, a mini screwdriver, two brushes, two virtual walls and an extra side sweeper. But it’s still a Roomba, so its AI is not going to be dramatically smarter than other models.

For example, when it comes to sensor detection, Calculon Jr. is smarter than a baby, but dumber than a five year old. With our smaller Roomba (4220), whenever it hit an object such as a PS3 controller or my foot, it would immediately turn around and go in a different direction. With the Roomba Pro, however, Calculon Jr. painfully ran over my toes, attempted to crawl up a Rock Band drum set, and knocked over three (toy) guitars.

Many of the problems that we encountered could have been because we tested the Roomba Pro in a (carpeted) medium sized living/dining room and a (tiled) family-sized kitchen. If this apartment were a mansion with large rooms and minimal clutter, the Roomba Pro would be an ideal vacuuming device for everyday housekeeping. But if you’re looking for a gadget that’ll routinely clean your cozy apartment, we recommend going with one of Calculon Jr.’s smaller and cheaper brothers. [Product Page]

Does bossing your gadgets around make you feel like a big man? If so, you will love the Figura. It vacuums, waxes floors, and you can verbally abuse it to your heart’s content.

Like the Roomba, it works autonomously—but you can order the Figura around with verbal commands like “clean up” or “get out of the way.” Plus, the ability to wax floors makes it useful for people who have ditched carpet in favour of hardwood. A price has not been disclosed, but Japanese customers should be able to pick one up staring in April of 2009. [BotJunkie]

Now, this post is similar to Juan González did back in June with his robot, but we’d argue it lacks the personality of Tajima’s cleaning creation, which combines vacuuming with limited physical fitness.

And, let’s face it, stumbling around Azeroth and Google Earth has nothing on a Roomba. [Wii Balance Board Blog via Kotaku]