#HTE

iRobot’s New Roomba Robot Vacuum Empties Itself While Docking

As we learned during our in-depth review of a robot vacuum, sometimes product designs simply shift UX hassles from one part of the operation to another. In that instance the hassle of vacuuming was replaced with the hassle of emptying the machine and cleaning the brushes out. But now iRobot is attempting to rectify those issues with their Roomba i7+. The brushes use rubber surfaces rather than bristles and, incredibly, the robot empties itself into a bag–good for a reported 30 fillings–whilst docking itself for recharges:

For me and other pet owners, the dealbreaker would be whether the emptying mechanism chokes on pet hair or not. We’d have to wait for some reviews to come in before entertaining the idea of buyine one–$950 is a bit too much to gamble with.