Compared to these conceptual robotic puppy vacuum cleaners dreamed up by Hyun-Seok Kim, a Roomba seems rather tame. Comprised of four puppy vacs and a "mother unit" these floor cleaners literally "chase" dirt and dust away.
Designed for young couples who are always too busy with work or mingling with friends to clean their own homes, the robo puppy vacs were inspired by a mother dog and her puppies. Robo puppy vacs dispatch from the "mother unit" and then proceed to getting their cleaning funk on. After dirt is collected, the puppy vacs return back to the mother, dump it off and then go back out for more cleaning. The dirt is collected in a standard dust bag and is then easily removed from the mother unit.
Displays on the robo pups let you know if they're functioning properly and can be used to program them to clean while you're out of the house. There's also a "Chasing Mode" that lets the vacs "chase" a wireless key placed in your pocket or around a dog or cat's collar. Wherever you go, the puppy vacs will clean, wiping off footprints from pets, water from rain boots, etc.
A variety of intelligent robotic vacuums already exist, but this one would take home the grand prize if it were real. I can totally picture four little robo vacs scooting around my house cleaning. That'd be a dream!
Hyun-Seok Kim, via YankoDesign
