We wonder about self-driving cars and how long it will take for them to be considered safe. Are there any lessons to learn from robot vacuum cleaners? They’ve been around for decades now. Remember the Roomba? That was a great product name. The designs started in the 1950s but it took quite a while for products to be released. It was the the 1980s that the Dustbot was released as part of the Omnibot line of toys. It carried a mini broom and dustpan for decoration.
Robot vacuum cleaners can operate autonomously or under human direction. There are now anti-drop and anti-bump sensors, camera-based mapping, wet mopping and so on. A Huffpost article recommended the Shark Matrix as the best of all the products available. In that article the Roomba starts at $149 on Amazon and the Shark Matrix is $500 at Amazon. Switching to a Canadian website on top models the MOVA P10 Pro Ultra Robot Vacuum… is $899 Canadian. That Shark Matrix that claims it is $300 on Amazon is listed at $1,099 Canadian.
That sizeable difference in pricing is due to a combination of factors - the result of “country pricing”, smaller market, import duties, transportation, lower competition, exchange rates, and regulatory and compliance costs. I would have thought with the cheap prices in the U.S., there would be a larger portion of Americans using robot vacuum cleaners, but it looks like 14% of Americans own a robot vacuum cleaner. There isn’t any data for Canada, but it is considered to be around 10%.
It seems to me that current robotic products are pretty boring - pool cleaners, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers…not very exciting products.
My guess is robotic pets for children/adults are the fastest growing segment of robotics and AI. No mess, no fuss, no vet visits. I don’t think Elon Musk’s robotic dog would be very appealing as a pet. Here’s a marketing shot of it. I think the Ageless Innovation Joy for All puppy at $250 is more my style.
What would Millie have to say about it - a robot dog that looks like Millie as a puppy - very appealing.
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