Oh god oh god! Household monsters are becoming real! This biomimetic slugbot is meant to pick up dust around the house, but it reminds me more of low-level enemies in NES games than any of its robot helper contemporaries. The Fukitorimushi (”wipe-up bug”) is an autonomous robot like a Roomba, but it moves in a freaky inchworm style. The funny thing is, it would be creepy enough without the microfiber cloth wrapped around it, but with it the thing is absolutely terrifying.
It charges itself and finds its own way around, and even lets you know via LED when it’s found an extra-dirty spot that needs a little extra inchworming across. It was shown at the TokyoFiber Senseware expo in Milan.
Ah, I just remembered what this thing reminds me of. Remember Out of this World?
I’d be afraid my little floorbot would one day rear up, bare its single poisoned fang, and take me down as vengeance for all the crumbs it had to mop up.
[via Pink Tentacle]
Cool. I might offer to sweep the floors for my wife now! :-) @robblewis
I gave up on that game after that thing killed me numerous times, and random button bashing doesnt do anything to it.
I fucking *LOVED* that game!! anyway you could sort of kick them and they would die, but you can also jump straight over them. The whole thing is that you see this cougar thing that chases you and so you have to be slick-as-fuck when you jump the little leech things before eventually you make it back and an alien shoots the cougar-thing.
…yeah. And I don’t care enough about my dirty hardwood floor to get a face inchworm to clean it.