MORE... Adventures with NEATO XV-11

By Wendy J. Miller

"Please put me down on the floor."


The other day when I got home, NEATO was AWOL -- the docking station was empty. I searched for him in the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom and the studio. 

He wasn't visible anywhere -- I was mystified. And he's supposed to return to the docking station when his battery gets low. I admit I was in a bit of a panic - what could have happened?  I promptly went into CSI mode, flashlight in hand...

Crawling on my hands and knees, I peered into every nook and cranny; in the process noting that NEATO was doing really great work!  Even though his jobs sucks, he was getting around and under all furniture and keeping my floors dust-free.

The final stop was the entertainment unit in the studio.  Aha!  There he was lurking in the shadows under the unit!  NEATO had latched onto a power bar cord and had no intention of letting go.  Either that or the power cord was enamored with my robot buddy - he's pretty darn cute, after all... Desperate to free him, I enlisted my former dust collector -- the SWIFFER, and was able to hook the underside of NEATO and I pulled him carefully toward me.

He is pretty heavy and was really hooked up tightly with his new power bar friend, but at last I was able to get to him.   His battery had depleted to the point where he couldn't have made it back to the docking station.  I picked him up and as I carried him down the hall, his message to me was not "thanks" or "I really appreciate your help" -- his read out said "Please put me down on the floor"!  I replied aloud, "Sure, you've got no juice and when I put you down how will you manage"?  NEATO responded, "My battery needs to be charged".  No kidding!

I placed NEATO at his docking station and once again emptied his dust bin -- but this time I washed it out and cleaned his filter with soap and hot water. In the morning, after everything was dry, I replaced the bin and filter; NEATO's message: "Replace my dirt bin". Hey.... who's the boss here?

To be continued...

Adventures with NEATO XV-11

By Wendy J. Miller

"House cleaning PAUSED"

I love technology - and although sometimes it baffles me, I appreciate the brilliance that goes into its development.

Robotics are a particular area of interest for me. I dream of the day when I will have a robot servant who (notice how I've already humanized it) brings me my slippers and a cocktail at the end of a hectic day. For years I've longed for one of the Star Trek food replicators - the magical gizmo that will instantaneously prepare any food or beverage you desire!

About eight or nine years ago I purchased a robotic lawnmower.  It had a very stylish shape and was bright yellow, but it required getting down on your hands and knees to carefully lay out a thin perimeter wire so that the robot would not go AWOL. As most of the area I wanted cut was grass layered over rock bed, it was almost impossible to set the work area.

Just as I was reaching my peak of frustration, I found out that the robot only wanted to communicate in Hebrew!  The mower had been manufactured in Israel and did not have an English language option.  Alas, it proved to be a huge OY VEY and I gave it to an auction house to sell.  I don't think anyone ever "bot" it...

For the past few years I have been intrigued by robotic vacuums.  Different makes and models appeared and became locally available.  I continued watching flyers, hoping that I would develop an actual NEED for this machine; not just a "WOW! That would be cool!" inkling.

Last month I couldn't wait any longer.  A new model, the  NEATO XV-11, was on the market - with better suction (the size of my dust bunnies required an engine akin to that used for an A320 Airbus), improved manoeuvrability, and with more clever design to tackle corners!  And online purchasing with free delivery would have it in my hands within five days.  My dust had been waiting for weeks - another five days would be no problem.

to be continued...