Samsung Navibot robo-vacuum makes gin-and-tonic time come sooner
From April, you'll be able to put your feet up one chore earlier, toasting Samsung's robovac as it whizzes around your house sucking up your detritus
Samsung is aiming to reduce the number of chores we all have to do until it's gin-and-tonic time, with the Navibot robotic vacuum cleaner. Huzzah!
The Navibot uses infrared sensors and a wide-angle camera mounted on its bonce to map out your rooms, snapping photos at 30 frames per second. Once it's done that, it can discern the quickest route around your house, and whisk away the accumulated detritus of daily life with its brushes and vacuumy bits. Unlike some rival robovacs, it won't bash into your furniture as it goes about its business.
Rather like the Neato vaccuum cleaner, the Navibot knows when it's running out of juice, and it'll head to its charging station for a 2-hour battery boost before returning to where it left off and finishing the job. It can also be set to do its chores while you're out of the house, enjoying a frolic. The rotund Navibot doesn't look like it'll handle corners terribly well though, so you could end up with select pockets of appalling filth around your house.
Following an Italian trial that was apparently a rip-roaring success, two versions of the Navibot will be available in Europe from April. There'll be a €499 (£440) model with touch-sensitive buttons and two 'virtual guards' that can be used to stop the Navibot trepassing in certain areas of your abode, and a €399 (£350) model with hard buttons and one virtual guard. Chin chin!