CSA Online If science fiction has taught us anything, it’s that the robots we invite into our homes will one day rise up and enslave the human race. Until that inevitable day, they can at least keep the floor clean. Dyson is practically synonymous with vacuums (though U.K. expatriates may say, without irony, that Dyson makes good Hoovers), so it makes sense that this is the most effective automated vacuum cleaner going, as tested by numerous review sources. Most robot vacuums rely on tireless effort as opposed to efficiency; they bump into obstacles and then course correct. The “360 Eye” part of this robot vacuum’s name comes from the 360° camera mounted on the top. This camera can sense obstacles and build a map of the room to work from. It can be programmed via a simple smartphone or tablet app to run to whatever schedule you like and will find its way back to the charging dock once its work is done. The app can also show you a map of exactly where the robot vacuum has travelled in your absence. If you’d rather not mess about with apps, you can just hit a button on the included charging dock just before you leave the house and the floors will be spic and span upon your return. Or, if you’ve taken previous CSA Online columns to heart and grabbed an Amazon Alexa or Google Home, rest assured that you can send the Dyson 360 Eye out on dirt patrol with your voice, too. There are other home helper robots waiting in the wings, and some boutique hotels are already experimenting with robots that can bring you room service and ensure that you’re enjoying your stay. Even having seen those, though, it seems that a robot butler as sci-fi has long envisioned is still a long way off. While whatever mad scientists looking to make Rosie a reality are doing their work, we’ll just have to be satisfied with a bunch of purpose-built robots. Maybe it’s better that way. I, for one, kind of like to have a clear understanding of what the robots in my life can and can’t do. Gives me the edge when the inevitable robot uprising begins. The couple of robots which we’ve discussed thus far tick the box for being helpful, but there was more to Rosie Jetson than just housework. She was part of the family. Jibo doesn’t help with cooking and cleaning, but he checks the personality box. Jibo is a more easily anthropomorphized version of Alexa on the Amazon Echo or Google Assistant on Google Home. An LCD touch screen that’s about the same size as a large smartphone displays a single white dot, representative of an eye. It’s the most emotive single white dot eye you’ll likely ever see. Granted, there’s not a great deal of competition in the emotive single white dot eye category. Jibo acts much like other smart home assistants…sharing your schedule, giving the weather, interacting with home automation gear and so on. It’s still not Rosie, but we’re getting closer. Dyson 360 Eye CDN $999.99 dysoncanada.ca USD $899 jibo.com Jibo CSANews | SPRING 2018 | 51
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