Scooba scoots away your spills

Pack your bags, Rosie the Robot

We dig robots. Especially small, non-evil, charming, helpful robots that facilitate slovenliness in our own homes. So we were most excited when we stumbled upon the Scooba -- iRobot's compact new floor scrubber -- at an expo yesterday.

Set to hit Australia in October, the Scooba follows in the footsteps -- or rather, the motorised scooting -- of the Roomba, the original round robotic vacuum cleaner that rids your home of dirt while you work, play, or sit on the sofa teasing it. The main difference is that the new model is capable of wiping liquid from your lino, hardwood or tile floors using a tank filled with a vinegar and water solution.

We checked out the charming appliance going through its prep-wash-scrub-dry routine, and it managed to rid a tiled floor of coffee spills pretty swiftly. Its liquid-handling capabilities suggest it would be equally as effective on red wine, which could make post-party clean ups a lot less painful.

The Scooba certainly looks cute and innocuous, but we haven't been able to take it for a test clean yet. So please don't blame us if you buy one and come home from a long day at the office to find it has betrayed its programming and enslaved your chihuahua.