just john

I've been hoarding a small problem for the last week and a half or so waiting to figure out what to do:  My robot vacuum cleaner was malfunctioning. It would start and then just start turning circles endlessly. I was beginning to fear for its health. Even worse, I was beginning to fear for the person who would end up having to sweep the floor.

After a couple of days of very minor prodding and turning the Roomba upside down, I decided to see if the company had a tech help section on their web site. They did, in fact. It was complete with a movie of my robot's behavior to help diagnose. I had a dirty bump sensor.

The solution to the dirty bump sensor was simple. I was to lift the robot and beat it on its bumper until it starting cleaning properly again. I did and it worked. I then took the trouble to do a complete service and wipe down just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Hopefully the little guy just finished vacuuming the apartment a little while ago.

Now I have an ethical dilemma. Though I am guilty of just a tiny bit of anthropomorphism on the part of my robot, the first thing the manufacturer told me to do when it stopped working was to beat it. So I have a dumb robot now, what about ten years from now?