[creato]

> If it misses a spot today, it will get it tomorrow.

One of the complaints about the smarter robot vacuums (like ones that map the house) is that they consistently miss the same spots every time. I think the dumb "bounce off the walls randomly" algorithm is actually the best one for this kind of product.

[numpad0]

One actual problem I had with a most basic Roomba(6xx) was it was banging a shelf in the room at exact same angle each run every day, which eventually toppled a thing on it and splayed water all around.

I felt like writing a automobile recall notice that says “inappropriate X leading to Y after Z repeats” of which X seems pretty benign item like a wire sheath was just one step too thin or a strap was too tight by a notch.

Damn those things are consistent and it’s extraordinary how powerful consistency is...

[Intermernet]

The correct bug fix for this is to move random items in the house periodically. If it can't be random, then you can.

[exikyut]

I wonder how you'd compute/reason about/define the axis point dividing the complexity of remembering to move random items around and the complexity of just doing the vacuuming yourself.

[kumarvvr]

Perhaps some randomness can be part of the smarter ones algorithms.