Moving Closer to the Dream of a Bathroom-Cleaning Robot

By Rain Noe - April 4, 2011

in Object Culture

I'm used to seeing disgusting bathrooms in two locations: Train stations and apartments comprised of twenty-something roommates. Something about riding the rails makes people lose all sense of human decency in a bathroom setting, and when there are roommates about, newly-graduated tenants feel certain that it is the others' responsibility to scrub the loo.

Here's some possible help: iRobot has recently released the Scooba 230, a floor-mopping robot designed for bathrooms. They've been making the Scooba model for about five years, but its large diameter—about the size of a 33 r.p.m. LP—makes it impossible to fit in the narrow spaces around the toilet (at least in city apartments). The 230 is smaller, closer to the size of a 45.

Looks like a dream come true, dunnit? Of course, assuming this thing works properly, all it really does is mop the floor. What I really want to see from iRobot is some kind of small suction-cup using 'bot that climbs around to scrub the shower, entire surface of the toilet, and sink. I even have a rendering of a potential form factor:

 

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Looks like a dream come true, dunnit? Of course, assuming this thing works properly, all it really does is mop the floor. What I really want to see from iRobot is some kind of small suction-cup using 'bot that climbs around to scrub the shower, entire surface of the toilet, and sink. I even have a rendering of a potential form factor:

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