DPRG mailing list archives: [DPRG] Re: Roomba subsumption

Fri Dec 15 07:55:48 CST 2006

I too have a Roomba and am very satisified with it. Yes you must straighten up room, just as you would do if you were vacuuming yourself.  Remove the cords, maybe move some furniture, I set my office chair on the bed so it can get under the desk.  I have one occasion where there the unit did get trapped due to it sliding under something, in that case it was a partial opened dresser drawer.

I too have a sunken living room. But I have not had any issues with it trying to get to the base in the living room when vacuuming areas other than the living room. Mainly because I move the home base to the area it is vacuuming. So if it is vacuuming the kitchen dining room, the base is in the dining room. So when I get home it is already charged up and waiting to go again. 

But I am going to see if it will do the cliff dive, just to see if it will. To me that is a real minor issue. 

My house has never been so clean. 

Bill James. 

----- Original Message ----
From: John Swindle <swindle at compuserve.com>
To: dprglist at dprg.org
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 10:53:48 PM
Subject: [DPRG] Re: Roomba subsumption

Hey Guys and Gals:

When I posted my disappointment about Roomba, I implied a 
question that got no response: Does Roomba correctly implement 
subsumption?

Since Roomba isn't ready for prime time, and since I've already 
returned Roomba to Sam's Club, the answer is academic. Really, 
it's academic: Roomba is supposed to be a prime example of 
subsumption, and the guys who designed it are from my alma mater. 
So, did they do it right? It seems not, but maybe I'm wrong.

At RBNO, Dale asked if the cliff-diving behavior of Roomba was 
contrived. No. I (unfortunately) have a sunken living room. If 
home base is in the living room, Roomba leaps off the foyer to 
its doom. Not contrived at all.

At RBNO, I mentioned how Roomba traps itself under furniture, and 
Will mentioned how the bump sensor ought to be straight edged to 
prevent that problem. Hmmm. Roomba has a rounded bump sensor that 
allows it to compress its suspension and get permanently stuck 
under furniture. Seems to be a Robotics 1.01 freshman mistake.

Am I missing something vital, or am I once again learning that it 
is better to earn millions making my own mistakes instead of 
earning thousands fixing other people's mistakes?

John Swindle

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