Compound Robot Vacuum

The recent success of hard floors over carpets means constant effort to keep them acceptably dust-free. Hoover, and all around is good, but close a door, and the gust of wind produced blows a hairy, blue tangle of filth out from the inch-high gap under the sofa. Irritating to me, it is nevertheless fascinating to my baby daughter; presumably she will enjoy candy floss in later life.

A good many robot vacuum cleaners exist, but they all seem to be big, round, noisy escapees from undergraduate robotics projects. Unable to sneak under things, or fit in between the legs of chairs, they wander aimlessly and piss off your dog. Do people actually use these things?

What's needed is a tiny robot, able to squeeze into the smallest spaces, and wipe the floors with its naturally dust attracting foam-rubber rollers. But this tiny form will be necessarily stupid, and unable to travel quickly, or carry much energy to keep it on the move. Even a modest room will prove too much work for this matchbox-sized machine.

Enter the mothership! A shoebox-sized host robot, too big for the intricate work, but able enough to cross rugs and thresholds between rooms. The big box can carry plenty of battery power for itself, and to constantly recharge a group of the little cleaners, just like those tiny radio-controlled cars that spend a minute charging their capacitor to be used for a couple of minutes fun.

The shoebox would carry the brains, and be able to detect its surroundings and plan its work. Six or eight cleaners would ride piggy-back, charging all the while ready to be dispatched by the shoebox for a minute of work. Perhaps there might even be different sorts of cleaners, to suit carpets or tiles, or skirting boards. Their dirty cleaning heads could be dumped into the shoebox's trailer, which would naturally have a 'dock' where clean heads can be picked up, and of course all the heads would be machine washable.

When you come home from work, the shoebox would detect the commotion, and park itself back under you bed, where its base-station is plugged in. Overnight It will recharge itself uncomplainingly, and plan which room it will clean tomorrow.