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Creepy Roomba Owners Treat the Wee Vacuums Like Pets

by Terrence O'Brien on March 3, 2010 at 05:40 PM

Owners Treat Roombas More Like Pets Than Gadgets

Roombas hold a special place in their owners' hearts. They're kind of cute, make maintaining a clean house effortless, and are infinitely hackable. But a new study from Georgia Tech's College of Computing indicates that some people may be forging bonds with their gadgets that are normally reserved for pets. [Edit. Note: It appears the Amazon reviews of the little bot confirms this. We've read reports of Roombas named Rosie or replacing pooches.]

Associate Professor Beki Grinter found that it wasn't uncommon for owners to give their Roombas names, and to even assign them genders, referring to the robot vacuum as "he" or "she" in conversation. Some eccentric fans have even been known to dress their bots up, and one subject introduced his Roomba to his parents. Even those who didn't go as far as giving the vacuum a personality found themselves going out of their way to make life easier for the gadget by "Roomba-izing" their homes. Owners often "pre-clean" floors before letting the Roomba loose, and even buy carpets that are easier to clean and refrigerators that have higher clearance.


Grinter believes all this to be evidence that not only are manufacturers capable of building "emotionally engaging" gadgets, but that people are ready to accept robots into their home. [From: MSNBC]

Tags: amazon.com, georgia tech, GeorgiaTech, pets, research, robot, roomba, roombas, top, weird

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