Roomba 550 Review

MIT Engineers Rodney Brooks and Colin Angle used their personal credit cards to launch iRobot in 1990. Helen Greiner, also from the MIT AI Lab joined shortly thereafter. The robots for the first decade or so were part science project part custom design engineering for companies and governments. They built a small robot for the Japanese Ministry of Trade, and a mine sweeper for DOD (they still build military robots, in fact several are now in service in Afghanistan and Iraq). Their first real consumer product was a toy, my Real Baby. Using the cost consciousness from dealing with the toy manufacturers, they launched the Roomba in 2003. It has been joined by a mopping unit called Scooba; they've even created a gutter sweeper (Looj).

I've had a number of Roombas over the years, and each time I've upgraded I'm always impressed at how much the next generation has progressed. The 500 series is the quietest model I have used yet, and it benefits from the feedback and refinements of the robots before it. We have tile throughout most of the house, with carpet in the living room and bedroom. The Roomba cleans it all, and I've never had a problem with it getting stuck on normal surfaces. I have had it try to eat a lamp cord, but after I "Roomba Proofed" the house (tied up cords, etc) I never had another issue. It goes over the bathroom rugs without issue- I don't know how it would handle rugs with large tassels however. I just treat it like a regular vacuum (ie you wouldn't put your Hoover on a Turkish rug with 6" tassels) and it works just fine.

I love the fact that it's so small- with 3" or so of clearance it can go under dressers, under the bed, and under the coffee table with no effort. It also does a great job of grabbing hair and dust bunnies off the floor, no spreading the dirt around at all. This model comes with an intelligent scheduling feature, so you can have do the vacuuming while you're gone. It also can find it's charging station and dock itself, so it's ready for the next day. It makes worrying about keeping your floors free from dirt a thing of the past.

One of the hallmarks of truly exceptional engineering is that it makes something very complicated, very easy for the end user. To get Roomba to clean, you press one button, aptly titled "Clean". This Roomba talks! It walks you through the setup, and tells you when there's a problem- no more running to the manual to figure out what the beeps mean. There's also new virtual walls called Lighthouses. They work in two ways- one they force the Roomba to completely vacuum one room before moving on to the next, and secondly to create invisible barriers to areas that Roomba will not cross. Overall this is a great vacuum, and it makes me wonder why I did it the hard way for some many years.

Some additional improvements over previous models include:

• 33% Larger Filtration Unit
• 33% Larger Dust Bin
• Faster Brush Speed
• Better Suction

Sources
Inc Magazine
iRobot
and see if you can find one at eBay:

iRobot Roomba 550 Robotic Cleaner Vacuum Cleaning Robot US $299.85

iRobot Roomba 550 551 AeroVac Vacuum Cleaning Robot US $459.90

iRobot Roomba 550 551 AeroVac Vacuum Cleaning Robot US $399.90

iRobot Roomba 550 551 AeroVac Vacuum Cleaning Robot US $319.90

iRobot Roomba 550 551 AeroVac Vacuum Cleaning Robot US $289.95

New iRobot Roomba 550 Vacuum Cleaning AeroVac Cordless US $309.95

iRobot Roomba 550 Robotic Cleaner Vacuum Cleaning Robot US $294.85

New iRobot Roomba 500 Series 550 Vaccum Robot Cleaner US $294.95

iRobot Roomba 550 560 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner NEW US $319.95

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Here are the current prices on Amazon:

	PWR+ Battery iRobot Roomba 500 510 530 532 535 540 550 560 562 570 580 R3 80501 Replacement List Price: $74.90 Average Rating:
	Features Extended Capacity 2500 mAh PWR+ products were tested by manufacturer to match and/or exceed original specifications of iRobot products PWR+ batteries are made with the highest quality materials.

	HQRP 3300mAh APS Battery for iROBOT Roomba 550 / 560 / 570 / 580 [Vacuum Cleaning Robot] Replacement plus HQRP Coaster Average Rating:
	Features HQRP™ APS Battery Pack plus HQRP™ Coaster; Battery Type: Ni-MH Rechargeable Battery Pack; Capacity: 3300mAh; Volt: 14.4V. 100 days warranty!

iRobot Roomba 540 Vacuum Cleaning Robot (5th Generation) Average Rating:

Features Automatically returns to its Home Base to recharge between cleanings. Virtual Wall Lighthouse keeps Roomba cleaning in one room, then guides it to the next Robot intelligence easily cleans hard to reach places, under beds and around furniture. Senses dirtier areas and cleans more thoroughly in those spots. Side brush reaches into corners and along edges to remove dust, dirt and debris. Self-adjusting cleaning head automatically adjusts to cleam carpets to hard floors.

	GPK Irobot Roomba 500 510 530 532 535 540 550 560 562 570 580 R3 Vacuum Battery Pack Includes Cross and Trigram Screw Drivers List Price: $61.99
	Features Nickel Metal Hydride Battery Voltage: 14.4V APS battery compatible with all 500 series Roomba FloorVac models products were tested by manufacturer to match and exceed original specifications of iRobot products batteries are made with the highest quality materials.

	Generic Battery replacement for iRobot 500 Series NiMH 14.4v 3.5Ah Average Rating:
	Features Rechargeable 1 Year warranty NiMH Memory free Extended Life 3.5Ah Works with entire iRobot 500 Series robotic Vacume cleaners

	Infinuvo CleanMate QQ2 Robot Vacuum (GREEN) List Price: $199.99
	Features Automatically return to docking base for self-recharging when low on battery UV light provides disinfection while vacuuming Auto shut-down feature conserves power when QQ2 is not in use or being recharged Moving out from underneath furniture (dark area) when it is low on power or has ended it's cleaning job Automatically stop and give warning beeps when wheel got stuck