Scientists think your lazy robot vacuum could provide home security, pet care, and more

Listen, you know you love your Roomba or whatever robot vacuum you purchased. Once you’re able to get it and yourself acclimated, it’s nice to have it sweep and suck up dirt from your floors. But after it does its job, usually completing it in under two hours, it just returns to its hub and does nothing until the next day. Scientists at the University of Bath and the University of Calgary think your robot vacuum cleaner could do more.

In a paper published by the Association for Computing Machinery, Yoshiaki Shiokawa and his team surveyed 50 owners of robot vacuums to find that other than between the hours of 7:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M., the little sucker just stays in its hub. On top of that, the average cleaning job that the vacuum does takes an average of one hour and 47 minutes for it to do each day. This made them wonder what other jobs the robot vacuum could do in addition to their cleanings.

Your robot vacuum is only active for less than two hours per day.Photo credit: Canva

In the end, the researchers collaborated with 12 experts in human-computer interaction to cook up over 100 additional uses and tasks that a robot vacuum could easily perform with some light modifications. Each of these ideas fell into one of eight categories: personal assistance, health and wellness, food preparation, home maintenance, pet care, communication, entertainment, and security.

For example, adding a laser pointer to the robot vacuum could help entertain your cat while you’re working. Another is to have a camera installed to act as a mobile security camera to patrol your house while you’re away, allowing you to check on it through an app. With some slight modifications, it could water your household plants as it cleans your floors, too. It could also be a mobile version of an Amazon Echo or similar device in terms of setting alarms, presenting weather forecasts on demand, and other voice command options.

This isn’t the first time something similar has been proposed. The Amazon Astro was built as a business security bot then pivoted to a home robot with multi-purpose functions, but has a hefty price tag. The researchers argue that the current robot vacuum models could serve similar multi-use functions, but at a smaller scale and cost.

Taking a piece of technology that served one function and then expanding its potential is the story of innovation itself. Toasters meant to toast bread (only one side) turned to toaster ovens to heat up full sandwiches, pastries, and pizzas until toasting just turned into a function of a multi-purpose air fryer. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, probably didn’t think his invention would also play movies, schedule appointments, and do essentially everything while also being pocket-sized.

If humans are good at anything, it’s building upon a premise and enhancing something else that came before. Time will tell if our little flat disc robot vacuums can turn into multi-functional gadgets that make life a little easier. Or at least keep your kitty entertained while you’re writing an article on your laptop.