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Hom-Bot Square: Cleaning those hard to reach places

Preston Phro May 30, 2013
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Though we haven’t gotten our flying cars or cyborg super-strength arms yet, the future has kind of arrived in the form of robot cleaning machines. The Jetsons this isn’t, but at least it’s quiet, right?

One of our distinguished reporters over on the Japanese side of RocketNews24 happened to pick up the “Hom-bot Square” and wrote the following review. Now you’ll know what to put in your home so you can more like us! (A worthy ambition indeed.)

When you think about vacuum robots, you usually imagine that they’re pretty sloppy, right? That’s how it was in the past anyway. But recently, I bought one myself, thinking “Hey! This is so cool and futuristic!” But actually it’s quite impressive, and I’ve decided to share its awesomeness with you, dear readers. I hope you’ll enjoy this rare glimpse into my mind.

▼Hom-Bot Square doesn’t even flinch at rugs.

・Vuiiiiiii goes the vacuum robot

The vacuum robot I got was the LG “Hom-Bot Square.” But at home, I just call it “this” or “that.” Though the corners are rounded, the basic shape is almost as square. There are long brushes on the front corners that stick out quite a way. It moves around with a “vuiii” sound and runs on electricity.

▼And it’s off!

・Review point one: It ain’t no slacker!

I’ve long been torn about buying a vacuum robot, but I finally decided to go down to a few electronics stores. I just wanted to actually see some in action and was kind of looking forward to comparing them. I got to have fun trying out different vacuum robots, but a lot of them couldn’t get dirt in corners. It was just left sitting there because the brushes wouldn’t reach.

I bought the Hom-Bot Square without really listening to the store staff, so I figured this one wouldn’t really be able to reach that hard to get dirt either. But it did! No slacking for this little worker. I guess because it has corners and the brushes are long enough to really get in there. I’m so glad I didn’t end up with a waste of money forcing me to do some cleaning myself. (Two thumbs up for no cleaning!)

▼Silly Hom-Bot Square thinks it’s a dirt-hunting drone. Wait a minute…

・Review Point 3: It ain’t noisy!

If you live in a place with thick wall, then, sure, it’s not a problem. But if not, and especially if you’re a night owl like me, then the noise from a vaccuum is gonna trouble the neighbors. I mean, if I can hear noise from upstairs or from my neighbors, then I would assume they could hear the noise I’m making, right? Even so, the Hom-Bot Square isn’t noisy at all, so I (well, it) can clean without troubling anyone! Perfect.

▼”Vuiiiii,” says the Hom-Bot Square.

・Review Point 3: No banging into stuff

I’m repeating myself, but I went to some different electronics stores, right? And tested out tested out a bunch of vacuum robots, right? You know, to be honest, I kind of expected them to all be bumping into each other like a demolition derby. That’s kind of a big problem though at home. No matter how lightly they hit a wall, white walls end up with marks on them. And then when you move, the deposit you get back from your landlord ends up being tiny.

And, of course, marking up your own house is just as awful. It’s something you paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for after all! But not this guy. He hardly ever even touches walls. It seems like it really understands what it’s not supposed to touch. It acts like it would get a rash if it touched the wall. (LOL) Just like how people avoid touching varnish. It’s so smart!

▼And back for a charge at the end of a hard day. Otsukare!

・This is a high level vacuum bot

The “Hom-Bot Square” is, without a doubt, one that I can recommend out of a number of other bots. It’s amazing how they’ve solved all the things that used to annoy people about vacuum robots up to now. If you’re interested, you can check it out here.

Here’s LG’s commercial for the surprisingly adorable device.

[ Read in Japanese ]