Hugh Durkin, Irish Internet Guy

iRobot Roomba - coolest gadget ever made!

A few months ago my flatmate arrived home with one of these, the iRobot Roomba 560.  It’s basically a hoover for lazy people, and you can either turn it on by pressing a button whenever you want your gaff cleaned, or you can set a timer on it.  Using the timer method the lil fella (that’s what I call the Roomba!) will switch himself on, drive out of his little base station, and bash around the place till it’s nice and clean.

The Romba comes with two ‘lighthouses’ which you can position around your home to direct the Roomba around - when it’s nearly out of battery the Roomba can use the lighthouses to help find its way back to the base station.

It’s surprisingly clever for such a simple robot.  It has sensors to detect drops in level (so if you have it working away at the top of a landing, it won’t fall down the stairs), and if it’s picked up - say by a small child - it’ll automatically switch itself off, so is totally safe for use in a house with kids or pets.

In terms of pricing, it’s not far off a Dyson and in my opinion far better value.  If, of course, you didn’t live in an apartment with wooden and marbley flooring and have a carpet, it has the same result.  If you live in a house with multiple stories, it’s probably best to get a couple of these and just leave them positioned on each floor, so you don’t have to think about moving them around too much.   Plus, if you’re totally lazy there’s another family member of the iRobot clan that can bash around your place mopping it!  This isn’t available in the UK or Ireland yet - believe me, i’ve looked!

Click here to have a closer look at it or click here to compare prices on it (disclaimer: from ni.Compare.ie, a site of mine).