It’s a fascinating progression – one that some are hesitant to declare positive, fearing robots could replace too much human value. We may not want robots taking our jobs, but there are some tasks you may not mind having them take over, namely around the house. Just think, if you didn’t have to worry about cleaning or yard work, you could invest your energy in more meaningful activities you most likely currently have a lack of time for. If you’re ready to give up some of your house chores, check out these five robots that are ready to help.
1. iRobot – Vacuums and Mops
Not everyone has time to vacuum an entire house more than once a week, and even then it’s a time-consuming task if you’re ensuring the nooks and crannies, the under-beds and under-dressers are being cleared of dust and detritus (not to mention, these latter areas are difficult to get a vacuum under). And mopping? More like once a month. With iRobot Roomba for vacuuming and Braava for mopping, you don’t have to worry about these tasks anymore, and you can ensure they’re being taken care of more regularly. Roomba costs you about $250 to $1,100, while Braava costs you about $200 to $300.
Roomba
The iRobot Roomba vacuum is advanced, no matter which model you buy. For a true sense of just how powerful it is, read up on the Roomba® i7+ Robot Vacuum with Clean Base™ Automatic Dirt Disposal. This Roomba model comes with a waste container that it automatically empties into, which means 1) you don’t have to vacuum and 2) you don’t have to empty the vacuum. And if you’re worried about Roomba doing a good job, don’t worry–it does. “The premium 3-Stage Cleaning System uses Dual Multi-Surface Rubber Brushes and 10x suction to clean different floor surfaces throughout your home,” the company says. As you would expect, it’s smart too, able to learn, map and acclimate to changes in your home. You can also dictate what rooms it vacuums, when and how, all using the iRobot HOME app.
Braava
Like it’s sibling robot Roomba, Braava showcases an exceptional array of capabilities. In particular, the Braava 380t is able to navigate your floors using navigation cubes that allow it to find its way around multiple rooms and ensure complete coverage. Braava takes care of all your bare and hardwood floors, whether you need it to sweep or mop. You can attach iRobots microfiber cloths or use disposable Swiffer pads to get the right job. And don’t worry about it leaving dirt behind. Braava uses what iRobot calls triple-pass mopping action to make sure your floors are polished when it’s done.
2. Ecovacs Winbot – Window Cleaner
If you hate cleaning your floors, you probably hate cleaning your windows even more. This is definitely one of those dreaded house chores most people let go undone for months, perhaps even letting it be a once-a-year task. But clean windows are often a key way to help your house look the absolute best it can. The ECOVACS WINBOT X, which costs about $450, is a great robot to make sure that’s always the case for your home. WINBOT adheres to the windows in your home, and based on the size and shape of each window it will choose the best route for moving across the glass to make sure it polishes every inch using its four-stage cleaning process. WINBOT also uses a deep-clean double-pass mode to make sure the dirtiest windows come out clean. Some might wonder just how safe a robot on a window could be. After all, what if it loses suction and falls off? WINBOT does in fact use strong suction fan technology to keep it attached to glass as well as to improve its ability to clean windows. Edge sensors help it understand when it’s getting close to the edge of a window. WINBOT also uses an advanced Safety Tether System that will draw the robot back if it’s losing suction, ensuring it won’t fall off. It’s safe to say WINBOT is a promising solution to the time-consuming task of cleaning windows, especially if you have many large windows in your home.
3. FoldiMate – Automatic Laundry Folder
Doing laundry is bad enough, especially if you have to do it for multiple people under one roof. But if there’s one thing worse than laundry, it’s folding all of the clothes you’ve washed. Having a helping hand is nice, and now you can make sure you always have one with FoldiMate, an automatic laundry folder that will cost about $980 once this robot launches in 2019 (as estimated). While FoldiMate can’t magically pick up a pile of clothes and start organizing them into neat stacks of shirts and pants, all you have to do is clip an article of clothing to FoldiMate’s folding tray using its electronic clipping mechanism and this robot will do the rest for you. As it folds your clothes, you can continue feeding more clothing into it, keeping a continuous process moving that allows you to fold a batch of clothes in under five minutes, according to the makers. A thoughtful feature allows you to specify the size of the folded clothes to ensure they fit on your shelves and in your drawers well. If you can’t stand folding clothes and your laundry typically piles up over the course of a couple weeks, FoldiMate could be a great robot to add to your laundry room when it launches.
4. Kobi – Multifunctional Yard Robot
Some people love yard work; others despise it, especially as they get older and it takes more effort to accomplish in a reasonable amount of time. If you’d rather spend your summer relaxing in the sun with ice tea and a book rather than mowing grass, or your winter sitting by a warm fire rather than shoveling snow, Kobi, a fully autonomous and electric-powered multifunctional yard robot, wants to make its new home in your backyard shed, with the base model costing about $3,000. Kobi is another robot that hasn’t officially launched outside a group of early-bird testers, but it’s safe to say when this machine does launch it will attract a lot of attention. Despite the high cost, Kobi looks to be very competent at accomplishing your yard work, being capable of mowing your lawn, removing leaves, and blowing snow. The perks of having Kobi do all of this for you are that you free up more time for yourself, reduce pollution, save yourself from health risks if hard labor is dangerous for your age, and reduce the expense of maintenance over the course of years. And your Kobi won’t do this for anyone else thanks to its advanced anti-theft system, which will sound a piercing alarm and send you an alert on your smartphone. Kobi will also disable itself, rendering itself useless if stolen. The amazing thing about this robot is that it’s smart enough to know what the weather is going to be like, allowing it to stay proactive and do the work it needs to do when it’s required to. You can tell Kobi what to do if you want, but you don’t have to. Just sit back and relax.
5. iRobot – Gutter Cleaner
Doing yard work is hard enough, but some seasonal tasks are just plain dangerous. One such outdoor chore is gutter cleaning. Whether you have to stand on a 10-foot or 30-foot ladder, reaching as far as you can to grab leaves and drop them into a bucket, or walk along the eaves of your roof blowing debris out with a handheld leaf blower – is it really worth it risking your life to keep your gutters clear? iRobot doesn’t think so, which is why they built the Looj 330 Gutter Cleaning Robot, which runs about $300. The Looj 330 works how you would imagine it when you analyze its design. It sits in your gutter and moves along automatically, spinning its blades at 500 RPM to break up clogs and lift debris and leaves out of the gutter. Sweepers and scrapers get whatever’s left in the gutter. If you want to control the robot manually, you can from a remote. Either way, you can get a 30-foot section of gutter cleaned out in about five minutes, which is a huge time saver on top of saving you from the risks associated with the job.
Robot That Are Your Friends
While we certainly don’t want robots taking over our jobs and lives, these robots are great examples of how we can leverage the power of technology and automation to enhance our lives by easing the jobs we have to manage on our own time at home. If you want more time in your day and/or want to worry less about hard labor posing a risk to your health, it could be worth it to drop some money on these robots. Are there other robots you’ve seen that could be great additions to a home? Let us know in the comments.
