Dr. Serkan Toto currently works as the first and only Asia-based writer for the TechCrunch network, mainly covering Japan-related technology and web companies for TechCrunch, CrunchGear and MobileCrunch. Serkan also works full-time as an independent web and mobile industry consultant with a focus on the Japanese market. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. Serkan... ? Learn More
The Roomba just got new competition from Japan: Toshiba has announced [JP] a new cleaning robot today, the so-called Smarbo (which is probably short for “Smart Robot”). Just like its US counterpart, the Toshiba robot is primarily intended for use in households.
Toshiba built quite a few features into the robot, for example two CPUs (details unknown), a camera, and a set of 38 sensors (gyro, acceleration, range detection etc.). The company says that the Smarbo cleans an area of 100sqm in about 90 minutes and that electricity costs stand at just 2 yen ($0.03) for a room of that size.
Just like the Roomba, the Smarbo circumvents objects in its vicinity and returns to its charging station automatically after it’s done. Buyers can program the Smarbo in certain ways. For example, if they want a small area within a room cleaned thoroughly, they can choose the “spot mode” to make the robot circle only in a 1.5×1.5m square and then return to the charging station (see below).
The Smarbo is sized at 355×355×93mm, weighs 3.7kg and works at 52dB.
Toshiba is planning to start selling it in Japan (where the Roomba is available, too, by the way) on October 1 for $1,175 (including a remote control and the charging station).
View the original article here
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