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LAS VEGAS -- Minimalists who eschew carpets but still hate to clean their own hardwood floors now have a more minimalist robot option. The iRobot Scooba 230 is a a tiny new floor-washing robot that looks good enough to be shown off on top of the coffee-table, not just hidden underneath it.
The new Scooba, announced at CES 2011 along with a sleeker version of the carpet-cleaning Roomba, will actually clean floors better than you can. Instead of scrubbing the same dirty mop-water over the kitchen floor, the Scooba only lays down clean water. It drips it down, along with optional cleaning fluid, and scrubs smooth surfaces clean. A vacuum squeegee then sucks up this filthy liquid, storing it in space left by the used clean water. It detects walls and drops, so it'll get the whole floor clean without falling down the stairs.
The only thing it doesn't do is return to base and charge itself. You need to plug it in yourself, although you will be able to back and program it just like any other Roomba. The Scooba will be available soon for $300.
Scooba 230 [iRobot]
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