Chuck Eglinton: The optional Roomba “Virtual Wall Unit” is an optional sensor for the roomba that sends a beam of light up to several feet long that Roomba won’t cross. For example, you can temporarily place a “Virtual Wall Unit” near a doorway or a stairway to prevent the roomba from entering a room or to prevent it from falling down the stairs. We sometimes use a “low-tech” solution – in the closets of some rooms we keep 5′ long, 1″x1″ sticks that we simply lay across areas we don’t want the Roomba to cross.

Chuck Eglinton : You may remember the old rectangular non-powered floor sweepers that some people use to pick up light debris on carpets and floors. The Roomba’s rotating brushes are somewhat like the brushes in the non-powered floor sweepers. The Roomba is technically a sweeper, not a vacuum, and the Roomba’s motor isn’t incredibly powerful, so you’re less likely to get caught on carpet snags than a regular vacuum. In our experience, the Roomba works fine on hardwood floors at picking up light debris.

Chuck: It’s not a Roomba brand lawn mower, it’s a “Friendly Robotics” brand Robotic Mower, model RL500. It works similar to a Roomba Carpet sweeper, but it’s for cutting your lawn. The model I own looks similar to their current model RL850. You can find their current robotic lawnmowers at http://www.FriendlyRobotics.com

Cutting edge!

Thanks!