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Robot maids to battle Shantabai: Barely a few months into launching, robotic cleaner brands say urban Indians are eager to replace tantrum-throwing maids with 007 gadgets that can mop floors, scrub carpets and shine windows.
The most precious gift Tushar Chopra gave his mother, Meena, last Mother's Day was a 'maid'. Diligent, punctual and far from quarrelsome, the new recruit kicks off the cleaning routine every morning at eight, after the teacher leaves her home in Panchkula, Chandigarh. Mopping floors, dusting carpets, and scrubbing the marble top kitchen counter, this new entrant has changed their lives, the Chopras claim. The fear of having to lose a hand to opportunistic neighbours doesn't arise when your hygiene cop is a disc-shaped robotic cleaner. "The Robocop spruces up our home before I'm back from work. After years, I find myself not having to tell a maid to dig dirt from under the sofa. In fact, it's such a hit, my sister and neighbours borrow it over the weekend," says Chopra.
The robotic cleaner market in India is barely a couple of months old, but manufacturers are excited with customer curiosity. Milagrow Human Tech, a Gurgaon-based firm that manufactures Robocop ( 9,990), SuperBot ( 10,990), Red-Hawk ( 16,990) and the BlackCat ( 15,990), claim they have sold 2,500 units since their launch in February. "People have less time on their hands. More women are joining the workforce, and efficient domestic help is tough and expensive to find. It's only natural for technology to step in. Our latest launch includes a window cleaning robot that we are targeting at owners of homes in high- rise apartments," says CEO Rajeev Karwal, who hopes sales hit 1 lakh units a year by 2015. They are not the only ones. Eureka Forbes has launched Robocleanz ( 7, 990) while LG's Hom Bot ( 43,990) maps your home for dust deposits, before busting all signs of dirt. Robocleanz's Facebook teaser is inviting customers to discuss 'Dus bahane meri bai de gayi...(ten excuses my maid came up with)'.
The Japan Robot Association has predicted that by 2025, the personal robot industry that stands at $5 billion today, will be worth more than $50 billion a year globally. In India, the customers like Amit Sharma will make sure the figures are met. The 45-yearold resident of Gurgaon is a pilot training instructor for a domestic airline, and invested in a robotic cleaner three months ago to enjoy the idea of returning to a clean home every night . "My daily schedule made it tough to coordinate my hours at home with a maid's," says Sharma. In the West, domestic robots end up doing far more. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology has designed robots that stand four feet tall and weigh 122 pounds. The Mahru-Z has a human-shaped body, and is capable of 'seeing' three-dimensional objects and recognising people and identifying jobs that need to be done. It can, for instance, pick up a dirty shirt, throw it into a washing machine and push the buttons to get the laundry done.
Bengalur u-based Ramaprasanna Chellamuthu is hoping to get there with his creations. He has built robots that cook and clean, and even splash water over his head on mornings that he oversleeps.
"My robots come fitted with three webcams and a screen, with a gesture-recognising software. Robot cleaners will change the future of cleaning," says the engineer with Microsoft. Navrisham Kaur Grewal, co-founder of Ludhiana's Metalmate Robotics, although dealing in commercial robotics in India, harbours an old school thought — "Robotic cleaning can never replace haath ki safai". But for urban Indians pressed for time, technology that saves them from tantrums is worth an investment.
Robots gain fans. It's estimated that about 2.2 million robots for personal and domestic use were sold in 2010 — that's 35 per cent more than in 2009. The International Federation of Robotics headquartered in Germany has projected that global sales of domestic robots could reach over 9.8 million units between now and 2014.
So, what can a robo maid do? Clean all types of surfaces, from marble and tiles to carpet, glass and wood. I Work from 45 to 90 minutes, and recharge itself in between cleaning cycles. I Have in-built obstacle and edge detection intelligence to prevent it from colliding into people and furniture, and rolling down a flight of stairs. I Can be auto-scheduled to kick off cleaning operations at particular time and date. In-built UV ray lamp helps destroy virus and bacteria.
Tips for those looking to buy a robo maid: If you are considering an international brand that's been imported to India, you will be shelling out far more. Premium robot vacuum cleaners start at 30,000.
Make sure the after-sales service is good. Dust is a problem peculiar to India, making maintenance vital. I'd recommend the Mint Floor Cleaner robot for Indian homes. It's more of a dry and wet mopper than a full-fledged floor washer. — Navrisham Kaur Grewal, co-founder, Ludhiana's Metalmate Robotics.
The World's Most Expensive Exotic Vacuum: Want to feel like a million bucks while you're vacuuming your house? Well, you're in luck! Just Haver, VP of sales and marketing for Go Vacuum - an online retailer of vacuum cleaners that has been around since 1996 - has manufactured a set of 100 24-carat gold-plated vacuum cleaners, each with a price tag of $1 million. If you think paying a million dollars for a vacuum cleaner is ridiculous, just wait 'till you hear how Haver came up with the idea for the million dollar cleaning tool. According to Gizmodo, Haver conceived of the idea for a million dollar, gold-plated vacuum while shuffling to his bathroom, his half-asleep eyes blinded by a golden light. (We're serious!).
Making matters worse, the expensive vacuum cleaner is being promoted with an equally ridiculous rap song that goes something like this: "Go Vacuum's $1 million dollar/is gonna make you holler/forget the other vacuums man/don't even bother/clean up your house in golden style/do you follow? Only 100 available/ they may be gone tomorrow." (YIKES!). It took him about six months to manufacture them, but now Haver has 100 vacuum cleaners, each priced at $1 million. "The status and exclusivity of owning a vacuum like this can't be measured in dollar and cents," says Haver, whose $1 million dollar vacuum cleaners come equipped with a 10 amp motor, a 14-inch wide cleaning nozzle, and anti-marring urethane wheels. But considering that you can pay $60 bucks for another person to clean your house, and that you can get a vacuum cleaner for as low as $21.00 on Amazon.com, Haver's million dollar dust-suckers might be a hard sell.
Making matters worse, the expensive vacuum cleaner is being promoted with an equally ridiculous rap song that goes something like this: "Go Vacuum's $1 million dollar/is gonna make you holler/forget the other vacuums man/don't even bother/clean up your house in golden style/do you follow? Only 100 available/ they may be gone tomorrow." (YIKES!). It took him about six months to manufacture them, but now Haver has 100 vacuum cleaners, each priced at $1 million. "The status and exclusivity of owning a vacuum like this can't be measured in dollar and cents," says Haver, whose $1 million dollar vacuum cleaners come equipped with a 10 amp motor, a 14-inch wide cleaning nozzle, and anti-marring urethane wheels. But considering that you can pay $60 bucks for another person to clean your house, and that you can get a vacuum cleaner for as low as $21.00 on Amazon.com, Haver's million dollar dust-suckers might be a hard sell.
2 comments:
Interesting article Karl. I wonder how many of the $1 million vacuums have sold?
Interesting article Karl. I wonder how many of those $1 million vacuums sold?
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