Call For Roomba Help My roomba is on the fritz again. I had it set to vacuum the place this morning. When I got up, it was stuck in the corner. I picked it up and turned it around, but as soon as it found another corner, it got stuck again, and just kept banging itself against the wall, like a mental patient banging his head against the wall.

I'm at my wit's end with this thing. I decided to call an expert.

As soon as Leon Laponte's radio show, "The Techie on KFE" started, I called in to talk to Leon about my Roomba. After waiting on hold for fourty-five minutes, the call screener put me right on air. Here's a transcript of our conversation.

LEON: Hey, Bernie. You're talking to Leon, the Techie on KFE. What can I do for you?

ME: Hey Leon.

LEON: Is this Bernie_M?

ME: Yeah, Leon, it's me.

LEON: For those of you who don't know, Bernie is one of our operators in the KFE chatroom. The chatroom is a great way to participate in the show. There's a lot of bright people there in the peanut gallery. (laughs) We run a clean chatroom, so don't hesitate to join us there. It's a lot of fun. So, Bernie, what can I do for you?

ME: It's my roomba, Leon. A few weeks ago, it lost it's settings, and -

Leon: Hang on a sec, Bernie. Maybe we should explain what a roomba is first. Some people may not know.

Me: Sure, it's -

Leon: The roomba is a robot, made by a company called iRobot, that vacuums your carpet. Bernie, you mentioned settings?

ME: Yes.

LEON: So you got the roomba scheduler?

ME: That's right, Leon.

LEON: And what happened with the settings?

ME: Well, the settings aren't really my problem, but I was just going to mention that the roomba lost it's settings a few weeks ago, but I was able to reset them.

LEON: O......K, good!

ME: But now I'm having another problem.

LEON: What's the problem, Bernie?

ME: The roomba keeps getting stuck in corners.

LEON: Well, that's no good! (laughs)

ME: (laughs) Yeah, it's driving me crazy.

LEON: I can imagine. Now, I know you know this, Bernie, but for the listeners, I wanted to point out that the roomba uses various sensors, and these sensors are supposed to work together to keep the roomba moving on it's merry way, sucking the dirt and dust off of your carpet. Bernie, do you use virtual walls too?

ME: Yeah, Leon. They came with the roomba.

LEON: Virtual walls are transmitters that you can place on the floor to keep the roomba from entering certain areas...

Bernie: That's correct, Leon.

LEON: ...and the roomba has sensors to detect the virtual walls.

ME: Right.

LEON: So you have a whole lot of sophisticated stuff going on there. It sounds like one or more of the sensors that are built into the roomba are no longer functioning.

ME: Yeah, that's what I figured. You have any ideas?

LEON: Sure! Why don't you just get a vacuum cleaner, like everybody else?

ME: Aww, come on, Leon.

LEON: I'm serious, Bernie. Either that, or get the thing serviced. Is it still under warranty?

ME: Yes.

LEON: Well, there's your answer then. It's probably not something that the end user can fix themselves. You see, when you're dealing with a relatively new proprietary technology, like the roomba, there are just so many things that can go wrong. Here, you have a robot, with many moving parts, sensors, an onboard computer, and you're using this highly sensitive device to do housework. Come to think of it, my wife is highly sensitive, and she does housework. (laughs).

ME: (laughs)

LEON: Oh, I'm going to get a beating for that!

ME: Haha.

LEON: But seriously, the roomba is just way to prone to the very kind of problem that you're experiencing.

ME: So, you don't like roombas, Leon?

LEON: I like the idea. It's a good concept. I just don't think it's ready for prime time yet. I'd wait until iRobot comes up with something like Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons. (laughs) Until then, I'd recommend just sticking to a regular vacuum cleaner. I'm old fashioned that way, maybe. And honey, if you're listening, I was kidding honey! I love you!

ME: I love you too, Leon.

LEON: Well, thanks, Bernie, but I was talking to my wife.

ME: Oh, I knew that. (laughs)

LEON: But in your case, Bernie, since your roomba is still under warranty, I say, just get it serviced.

ME: OK, I'll do that. Thanks a lot, Leon.

LEON: Thank you, Bernie, and thanks for the great work you do in the chat room.

ME: My pleasure, Leon.

LEON: Take care.

So, I guess I'm going to contact iRobot to get this thing serviced.

What a pain!
- Bernie  ¶ 5:12 PM