Boxing Week Sale at RobotShop
The boxing week starts today (December 23rd) at RobotShop, so we encourage you all to come and check out our sales! Among the most notable products are the Zibits ZX-34 R/C toy, the adorable Little Inu Interactive Pet Dinosaur and, for Canadian customers only the awesome White Neato XV-12 Robot Vacuum. Check out all of our sales in order to find your very own “robotic” bargain.
Boxing Week Sale at RobotShop
Image via Screen Junkies.
Click Me For a Surprise
It’s the time of the year again to please the Roboticist in your life with geeky robotic gifts. There is so much choice and so many awesome robotic products that it can be difficult to choose the right one , but don’t despair, RobotShop has its Holiday Gift Center filled with Gift Ideas for everybody. We have classified robotics geeks in six categories: Children, Teens, Adults, Mad Scientists, “under $25″, and Pets.
It’s never too early to initiate humans to robotics. Robotic toys are not only fun, educational and original, they also train children to accept their future robot overlords.
Every child would love to ride their own Dalek, play with their own dinosaur pet, or have an army of robots insects. Head to Robot Gifts for Children in order to get even more gift ideas.
Teens need cool gadgets that will get them popularity and boost their self esteem. Since “Geek” is the new “Cool” what can be better than awesome robots and gadgets that will teach them to impress their friends with their new robotic skills. What can be cooler than making your own “Most Useless Machine” or being woken up by a robotic alarm clock? We don’t know but it can probably be found in the Robot Gifts for Teens section.
Sophisticated people need sophisticated toys tools. They need robots that will help them with their daily tasks in an efficient way so they can concentrate on what really matters (playing with the children and teen toys they bought for their loved ones). It goes without saying that everybody would love to have a robot clean their home, take care of their cat and mow the lawn. Head to the Robot Gifts for Adults section to have all your robotic needs fulfilled.
We have a special place in our hearts (and in our Gift Center) for the geekiest among the geeks. For all of those who want to program incredibly sophisticated robots, display wavy signals, or kick it old school and play with robots from the past, visit the Robot Gifts for Geeks, Nerds and Mad Scientists section.
For those looking for stocking fillers or more affordable gifts, the Robot Gifts Under 25$ section houses some of the most affordable, popular and fun robots there is. You can find remote control robots, educational kits, and much more.
Pets may not be human but if they are anything like their masters, they want robots as well, especially if they involve lasers! Have your master click on the Robot Gifts for Pets section to see all the robots for pets available.
Robot Turkey
Today we received a nice heart-warming message from one of our customers, see it below:
I dropped my Roomba a few weeks after I first got it years ago, and broke the IR sensor. (What a newbie – I was holding it by the dustbin). I taped it back on for a few years but eventually it got scraped off and then lost. This month I found your directions on how to disassemble a Roomba (and reassemble it) and I bought a used infrared sensor from you. IT WORKS! It can see again! I can use walls and it can find the dock! Your directions were excellent. The photos were very helpful. I am so happy. It was a nice Thanksgiving evening project and now I am thankful for RobotShop!
- BJ, Oakland
We are always happy to know that the documentation we create and the services we offer are helping people out there live better with their robots. If you want to repair your Roomba like BJ, you can find the documents at the Roomba Resource Center.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers for always being creative with all your projects, patient when things go wrong, and simply awesome in every possible way. It is thanks to you that RobotShop is still here offering you all the parts, the domestic robots, and the toys you ask for. Thank you customers for making RobotShop your place of choice for buying everything robotic.
What are you thankful for in this Thanksgiving? Leave a comment below with your answer.
RobotShop Ultimate Challenge
The RobotShop Ultimate Challenge for robot vacuum cleaners is complete! With the Infinuvo Cleanmate QQ-2 Plus having completed the Challenge, this concludes our current round of robot testing. Well, at least for now. Who knows what we’ll be testing next here at RobotShop.
No matter, now on to the results! Let’s see how it did:
Final Score:
QQ-2 Plus Score Card
The QQ-2 Plus scored a total of 89 points, which places it last in our standings:
champion-chart
Looking at the robot’s scorecard and the scoring criteria, you may have noticed the large discrepancy between the score of the QQ-2 Plus and the other three challengers. It is good to keep in mind that the QQ-2 Plus is a much simpler robot than the others, this made particularly evident by its sale price. At less than half the price of the next challenger, the QQ-2 Plus is a decent robot for what it costs.
More on that later though, as RobotShop breaks down all these results in our next video, where we will discuss and make sense of all this information.
Don’t miss the next installment of the Ultimate Challenge: to keep up-to-date on the Ultimate Challenge and all things RobotShop, subscribe to our Blog and Youtube Channel!
RobotShop Ultimate Challenge
iRobot’s newest offering, the 700 series, has been put through the Ultimate Challenge, and we now have the results for the Roomba 780. Being one of the newer robot vacuum cleaners to become available in North America (and now abroad too), these results are quite relevant and useful for consumers. Some wonder “did it beat the Neato Xv-11?”
Another question that comes up: how has the Roomba 780 been improved over the Roomba 560? Whether you prefer XV-11 or Roomba, hopefully you will find these results useful in answering these and other questions. So just how did iRobot’s flagship robot vacuum do? Check it out below:
Final score:
Roomba 780 Scorecard
With a total score of 450, the Roomba 780 surpassed the Roomba 560′s score of 435, as would be expected. Improvements to many features (like battery life and scheduling) helped the 780 stay ahead. Therefore our current standings are:
Champion Chart
While the Roomba 780 outperformed the 560 and its improvements are obvious, the Neato-XV-11 was able to hold off the 780 and maintain its position on top of the leaderboard. This is owing to Neato’s improved navigation and smarts. That being said, the Roomba 780 is still a great robot that cleans well.
As always, you can see the scoring criteria here, and get the written results too.
To close out this round of the Ultimate Challenge, the Infinuvo QQ-2 Plus will be tested next. Check back here in two weeks for the results.
Robotiq Adaptive Gripper
The Robotiq adaptive gripper, is a gorgeous heavy-duty dexterous hand for industrial manipulation and research. As you can see in the video below, it can manipulate objects of various sizes and shapes without issue. This type of robot is used in research and in industry to assemble complex objects which use many differently shaped parts.
We covered this robot in the past but today we would like to announce a very significant drop in the price of this nifty robotic hand. Previously priced at 25,000 $, you can now get this dexterous robot for 18,000$ instead. This means there is a whopping 7,000 $ price cut, which makes it the most affordable adaptive industrial gripper on the market (as far as our research goes). Although most humans would prefer buying a car with this kind of money and may find 18,000$ is a bit steep for a robotic gripper, it is important to note that the BarretHand (a close competitor) is priced at roughly 80 000$, which is more than four times the price. Enough with the basic math, check the video bellow so see a pair of Robotiq adaptive grippers mounted on a Yaskawa manipulator.
If you would like to dispute our claim that this is the most affordable industrial-grade adaptive gripper, feel free to post a comment with some information about other awesome robotic hands.
RobotShop Ultimate Challenge
If you were at all curious how the Neato XV-11 performed in the RobotShop Ultimate Challenge, then this post is for you. RobotShop has done the tests, compiled the results, and put it all together for you. The findings may (or may not) surprise you. For anyone thinking of buying a robot vacuum cleaner, you should take a look. You can check out how we scored the robot and get the results broken down for Neato, challenge by challenge. But first, let’s actually see some of these tests. Video below:
Neato XV-11′s final score:
Neato Score Card
While the Roomba 560 has been around for a few years and is a proven design, with the exception of a few areas, the XV-11 outperformed the 560. iRobot certainly isn’t out of contention, but the bar has been set pretty high. How the XV-11 will do against the Roomba 780 should be interesting. That being said, our current standings are:
Champion Chart
Stay tuned for our next contender, the iRobot Roomba 780. Now we’ll be the first to admit: The Roomba 780 is certainly nice to look at. But does it have the muscle to match its appearance? We’ll find out soon enough. Expect the next RobotShop Ultimate Challenge installment in two weeks.
e.ziclean Revolution Robot Vacuum
European RobotShop customers rejoice! The all-new E.ziclean Revolution by e.zicom is now available for purchase in Europe and should instigate many households to become cleaner and healthier. Will this robot be the first to trigger the Robolution? We don’t know…but it probably will. Seemingly inspired by Che Guevara’s beret, this robot comes in two colours, rebellious-red and bold-black.
e.ziclean Revolution Robot Vacuum with Dock
The E.ziclean Revolution can do systematic cleaning much like the Neato XV-15 and the Navibot, but it remains unclear on how it performs this tasks since no laser, nor a camera are apparent. It probably uses sheer determination, a deep sense of duty, and its very own ideology to fight for its ideal of having all humans live in a systematically cleaned house.
The robot also includes a remote control that allows you to enslave it and force it follow your commands. Nevertheless, this robotic vacuum will probably contest the dictatorship and try to regain autonomy when you least expect it.
If you are tired of conformity and the oppressing rule of dust over your life, give the E.ziclean Revolution a try and start doing your spring cleaning.
This is an amazing opportunity for any robotic geek out there who loves robots and wishes to be fully immersed in everything robotic. As a Robotics Technician you will be exposed to our ridiculously large variety or products spanning every single area in the personal robotics market and will be asked to learn about them, support them, and love them.
Robbie the robot steals your job
We specialize in the sale and distribution of domestic as well as professional robots, robotic kits, robot parts and more. The robotic market is expanding rapidly and we are looking for the right candidate to join our dynamic and ambitious team.
You are probably wondering what are the exact tasks of this awesome job. If you get chosen, you will support the engineering department by:
What do you need to get this job? Its simple you must be a robotics geek with previous robot building experience. Or if you want a more formal list see below:
Sought after qualities are:
Are you envisioning yourself surrounded by robots for a minimum of 37.5 hours per week? Stop dreaming and send us a soft copy of your resume to jobs@robotshop.com and let us know why YOU would be the ideal candidate.
RobotShop Ultimate Challenge
The RobotShop Ultimate Challenge is moving along quickly now; the Roomba 500 series has completed all the tests and its final score is now available. If you recall, the robot vacuums are being scored by 15 different performance tests: how well they pick up debris, how fast they clean, how loud they are, etc. With the Roomba 500 series’ results now in, you’re going to have some cold hard facts to back up your purchase decision.
Check out the video below explaining the results, or just skip to the scoring criteria found at the end of the video or found right here (PDF).
Results vid:
For those of you who are really impatient, here you have the final scores for the Roomba 560.
Roomba 560 Score Card
Next up: the Neato XV-11. We won’t pretend the Neato XV-11 and the Roomba like each other; however since neither can talk (well, the Roomba actually can… sort of), we’ll let the results speak for themselves. Neato XV-11‘s full results will be available in our next installment, two weeks from now.
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