Roomba creator responds to reports of ‘poopocalypse’: ‘We see this a lot’(theguardian.com)

34 pointsby r721vor 10 Jahren6 comments

Roomba creator responds to reports of ‘poopocalypse’: ‘We see this a lot’

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/15/roomba-robot-vacuum-poopocalypse-facebook-post

7 comments

timmaxwvor 10 Jahren

Idea: Make the Roomba treads light-colored. Point an LED and photodetector at the top of the tread, the part that's inside the robot. If the reflectivity of the surface ever changes suddenly, then either something is stuck in the wheel or the wheel is tracking something around the house, so the Roomba should stop and alert the user.

jsinkwitzvor 10 Jahren

If they see it a lot, then it sounds like it would be economically worth developing a version for pet owners.

Rough ideas: detect moisture in material. If soemthing 'wet' is detected on the bumper, halt. Just halt. It isn't worth it.

Otherwise, would need to have the ability to shampoo/wetvac, and that's something I don't think would work in a tiny device.

sly010vor 10 Jahren

My first thought:

A poop is probably capacitive, you could detect it without even touching it.

My second thought:

What else has capacitive sensors and how could I test this theory?

StavrosKvor 10 Jahren

...your phone screen now has poop stains on it, doesn't it.

Neeekvor 10 Jahren

You stay away from my phone!

fred_is_fredvor 10 Jahren

I'd venture to guess that think most people that have Roombas are pet owners, so I agree it should be a high priority feature.

[deleted]vor 10 Jahren