[PetitPrince]

I agree with the general vibe of your post but let me make a tangeant:

> I always think of my Roomba in this kind of situation, namely when one tries to imagine a future where tech works outside of the computer. Basically my little vacuum robot mostly sits idling in the corner because... a basic broom or a normal vacuum cleaner is radically more efficient, even if it means I have to do so myself.

For me the whole value of a robot vacuum is that... I don't vacuum, the robot does, and when it does so it when I'm not at home. Reduce the dust periodically by 75% so that it's neater; I'll do a deep clean every few month or so.

(maybe what you're saying is that the cost of vacuuming for you is low enough that it's similar to launching the robot vacuum, in that case I understand you !)

[utopiah]

> the whole value of a robot vacuum is that... I don't vacuum, the robot does, and when it does so it when I'm not at home.

I agree, that's indeed the value proposition and that's in fact why I got mine... but do you really "just" do that, namely turn it on (or automatically with scheduling) or rather do you

- very it's charged (because sometimes it doesn't actually get right on its station)

- verify its empty or that its bin isn't full

- remove chairs and cables

then and only then start it?

I had just a few couple of "bad" experiences when it got stuck on something just a few centimeters of the floor or (and that one really sucks) cables entangled inside to reconsider how "worry free" letting it roam without supervision was. I don't have pets but if I did the poop smearing videos would also scare me quite a bit.

[PetitPrince]

I see where you're coming from, because my robot tends to eat the cats toy as well as my computer charger cable. In my case the prep is minimal, as it's just putting them on the sofa. Otherwise the robot has no problem charging and returning home, (I only had issue 3 times in 5 years ?). Concerning the bin I have pets so in my mind I have to empty the bin after each run. But psychologically I see tons of hair so in a way it's satisfying to see a job well done. The pets are fortunately well behaved so poop smearing is a non-issue (some more recent robot also have object detection to avoid this kind of stuff).

In any case, the ritual is to run it every odd day or so just before leaving for work so the mental burden is low.