LG Answers the Roomba with Robot Home-bot Vacuum

By Lance Ulanoff
January 5, 2011 02:13pm EST
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LAS VEGAS—Even from way in the back of the giant ballroom where LG held its CES 2011 press conference I could recognize the tell-tale shape and size. The South Korean consumer electronics giant was, somewhat surprisingly, unveiling a robotic vacuum that looks quite a bit like the current market leader, the iRobot Roomba.

The LG Home-bot, which actually looks a bit larger than a Roomba is a red, circular vacuum about 16-inches around and three inches deep. Unlike iRobot's Roomba which builds a map of the room by moving around it and detecting wall edges and obstacles, Home-bot features two cameras: one pointed at the ceiling and the other pointed at the ground and the area in front of the robot vacuum. Both cameras take real photos and video. The ceiling-facing one actually looks for corners to build its room map. The front camera detects obstacles and hazards like stairs.

According to LG Electronics Product Insight Manager Patrick Steinkuhl, the robot actually memorize the room and will take note if, for example, a new piece of furniture has been added.

The self-charging Home-bot offers three cleaning modes: spot removal, auto (where it uses its own intelligence to clean) and remote control. In the latter mode, users can tap into Home-bot's built-in Wi-Fi to control the robot vacuum via their smartphone or tablet.

Steinkuhl said that since Home-bot uses real video and digital cameras, it can also operate as a home security device capturing and you images of your home while you're on the road or in the office.