Roombas: Are They Automobiles?

"Matt Brown" (superfastmatt) 10/23/2019 at 12:40 • Filed to: Roomba, automatic vacuum, everything is an automobile

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When somebody says automobile, they are usually talking about those four-wheeled things with internal combustion engines. But what about my robot vacuum?

Robot vacuums have some similarities with what we would typically call an automobile: they have motors and wheels, at least one of which can turn.

Sure, they are usually round and not the rectangular shape we are used to, but shape does not define something as an automobile. BMW Isetta: kinda roundish. Oscar Mayer Weinermobile: wiener shaped. Both clearly automobiles. 

But what about the fact that they don’t have passengers? Well for one, here’s a cat riding a Roomba.

Here’s a dog.

Here’s a fucking shark.

“But what about human passengers?” You ask.

What about human passengers? Are we so egotistical to think that everything is about us; that automobiles cannot be automobiles just because a human can’t be made mobile by them?

Fine. Here’s a baby riding one.

A robot vacuum is just going to the places where you would be going with a regular vacuum if you didn’t have a robot  vacuum. It is so much an automobile that it prevents you from needing to be mobile at all .

Robot vacuums are automobiles.

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BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Matt Brown 10/23/2019 at 12:45

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Or is it a drone?

I am thinking robotized appliance being commandeered by small living things, but that is just me. ;-)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Matt Brown 10/23/2019 at 12:46

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I wonder what the payload is on one of those.  Is a dog/child/cat bad for the motors?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Matt Brown 10/23/2019 at 12:48

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Roombas are the single consumer good most likely to bring about the Butlerian Jihad.

Thou shalt not make a machine with a mind like a man, even if a man with ADHD.

Nibby > Matt Brown 10/23/2019 at 12:51

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they’re the future of fighting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwtxWL0P9wA

Matt Brown > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 10/23/2019 at 12:53

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Makes me wonder what the durability testing is like.

“Y eah, we put a ten pound bag of sand  on it and had it vacuum up gravel for seventeen hours.”

Matt Brown > Nibby 10/23/2019 at 12:57

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Is this a prequel to The Matrix or Terminator?

Spanfeller is a twat > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 10/23/2019 at 13:02

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An autonomous drone?

user314 > Matt Brown 10/23/2019 at 13:24

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Neither; this how we get to Robot Jox !

user314 > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/23/2019 at 13:27

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Is Siri Omnius or Erasmus? 

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > user314 10/23/2019 at 13:36

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I’m thinking Siri is Omnius and Cortana is Erasmus, but I could be convinced otherwise.

Corkscrew'd > Matt Brown 10/23/2019 at 18:07

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Well, they suck. Cars only suck sometimes.

Matt Brown > Corkscrew'd 10/23/2019 at 18:11

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Early prototype racing Roomba:

Corkscrew'd > Matt Brown 10/23/2019 at 18:43

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Oh, it’s the suckiest sucker car that ever sucked.

Urambo Tauro > Corkscrew'd 10/23/2019 at 19:32

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Suck, squeeze, bang, blow!

Urambo Tauro > Matt Brown 10/23/2019 at 19:33

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Feels weird to call one that, but yeah I guess they literally are auto-mobiles .

Corkscrew'd > Urambo Tauro 10/23/2019 at 20:45

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AKA, a Tuesday night at the Castro.