#8: Autonomous satellite vacuum

An attachment for a standard vacuum cleaner consisting of a small, simple robotic ‘mouse’. The mouse is connected to the cleaner by a light flexible, smallbore hose. It is capable of moving itself about randomly on a floor surface using only tiny battery-powered motors and its small size means that. it can reach into corners and under furniture. The suction is provided by the main vacuum cleaner which remains stationary.

Based on existing, low-cost robotic mouse toys, this device could be fitted with a timer and clean a small section of a floor each day without the owner’s intervention -and it can reach places the $300 Roomba fears to tread.