This is going to trigger a rant. Sorry.
Roomba is one of those companies that tragically doesn't know what its purpose is supposed to be. And there's no Steve Jobs to walk in and ask them if they really want to be selling sugar water for their whole life. I don't need a robotic vacuum for my floors. Dyson, Shark, and the rest are doing a fabulous job making appliances that take care of that need.
What I need a robot vacuum for is to get to places inside the house that I can't reach or access.
Like that network of ducts, pipes, and vents inside the walls.
The average Canadian is inside the house for most of the winter, and cleans their ducts maybe once every five years.
It's an expensive service to perform, leading people to delay it as much as possible.
If you could put your furnace into maintenance mode for an hour each week and a robotic cleaner went to work, people would see real health and life benefits from breathing cleaner air. Those with allergies and breathing impairments would have a real improvement in their quality of life.
But by all means, let's ignore all that and continue our fascination with having a personal R2-D2 in our living room.
