Review: iRobot’s Looj 330 is the safest, most advanced gutter cleaning robot ever
Robots can vacuum our floors and mop our bathrooms, so why not clean out our gutters? After all, that’s a similarly mindless task but one that is many times more dangerous than picking up a few errant crumbs from in front of the couch. iRobot‘s Looj series has been cleaning out leaves, acorns, and assorted muck since it was announced in 2008. Now the company has announced the third generation model, the Looj 330, which is more capable then ever before.
How do you improve on a robot that does nothing aside from cleaning out rain gutters? You might be surprised at how much iRobot’s team of engineers was able to think up. Because the functionality of the robot didn’t change — it just moves forward and backwards and flips junk out of your gutter — the updates focused on safety, performance, and usability.
As far as the safety goes, the primary concern was the operator not falling off the ladder. This meant making the bot easy to use and interact with. For example, all interaction points are in bright orange and the handle on top, which slips off of the bot, is designed to be big enough for a gloved hand to slide in an out easily. After all, you don’t want your hand stuck in a robot when you are 10 feet above the ground. The handle (and the Looj when attached to it) can be hung on a convenient belt loop so both hands can be used when going up and down from the roof.
iRobot Looj 330To optimize performance, the Looj 330 has interchangeable cleaning tips (known as by the wonderful phrase “auger flaps”), a four-stage 500RPM motor, multiple speeds, and a slimmer design. The bot has also been upgraded to a 7.2V lithium-ion battery, making it the first consumer iRobot device to go this route. Why make the change from NiCad? The Looj is a seasonal product that will only be used a few times a year and lithium-ion is much better suited to this usage pattern. The battery is removable, as with the Scooba, but the Looj is still fully waterproof.
And finally improved usability was a goal as well. The big thing here is that the Looj now has an autonomous mode, where it will clean the gutter and return to the starting spot on its own (previously it could only be operated by the user). Also the bot has moved to a 2.4GHz wireless signal so the communication range between the controls on the handle and the robot have been increased. The max range is rated at 50 feet, but iRobot’s representative made it clear that this number is under poor conditions, under optimal ones the range should be considerably more. Also, the handle is now a full loop, so the chance of dropping it is greatly diminished, and there is a optional carrying case which will hold the Looj and all its accessories.
I had a chance to see the Looj in action and, well, it cleaned a mocked up gutter (inside a midtown Manhattan office) quite thoroughly. The swappable auger flaps mean you can customize the bot for any conditions, from skinny, European-style gutters to cleaning out wet muck, to dumping out a load of acorns, instead of just leaves. The real proof will emerge once these bots hit the gutters and people start posting reviews, but it looks like iRobot is moving in the right direction with the changes they’ve made.
The Looj 330 should be available today for $299. The accessory kit with carrying case will be $99.
How do you improve on a robot that does nothing aside from cleaning out rain gutters? You might be surprised at how much iRobot’s team of engineers was able to think up. Because the functionality of the robot didn’t change — it just moves forward and backwards and flips junk out of your gutter — the updates focused on safety, performance, and usability.
As far as the safety goes, the primary concern was the operator not falling off the ladder. This meant making the bot easy to use and interact with. For example, all interaction points are in bright orange and the handle on top, which slips off of the bot, is designed to be big enough for a gloved hand to slide in an out easily. After all, you don’t want your hand stuck in a robot when you are 10 feet above the ground. The handle (and the Looj when attached to it) can be hung on a convenient belt loop so both hands can be used when going up and down from the roof.
iRobot Looj 330To optimize performance, the Looj 330 has interchangeable cleaning tips (known as by the wonderful phrase “auger flaps”), a four-stage 500RPM motor, multiple speeds, and a slimmer design. The bot has also been upgraded to a 7.2V lithium-ion battery, making it the first consumer iRobot device to go this route. Why make the change from NiCad? The Looj is a seasonal product that will only be used a few times a year and lithium-ion is much better suited to this usage pattern. The battery is removable, as with the Scooba, but the Looj is still fully waterproof.
And finally improved usability was a goal as well. The big thing here is that the Looj now has an autonomous mode, where it will clean the gutter and return to the starting spot on its own (previously it could only be operated by the user). Also the bot has moved to a 2.4GHz wireless signal so the communication range between the controls on the handle and the robot have been increased. The max range is rated at 50 feet, but iRobot’s representative made it clear that this number is under poor conditions, under optimal ones the range should be considerably more. Also, the handle is now a full loop, so the chance of dropping it is greatly diminished, and there is a optional carrying case which will hold the Looj and all its accessories.
I had a chance to see the Looj in action and, well, it cleaned a mocked up gutter (inside a midtown Manhattan office) quite thoroughly. The swappable auger flaps mean you can customize the bot for any conditions, from skinny, European-style gutters to cleaning out wet muck, to dumping out a load of acorns, instead of just leaves. The real proof will emerge once these bots hit the gutters and people start posting reviews, but it looks like iRobot is moving in the right direction with the changes they’ve made.
The Looj 330 should be available today for $299. The accessory kit with carrying case will be $99.
