Isaac Assimov could not have envisioned a better future according to his books now that household robotic servants are in vogue nowadays. iRobot Corporation has dispelled the notion that robots are a thing of the future by developing two new home robots designed to do simple household chores.

Riding on the success of their previous iRobot Roomba Vacuum Cleaning Robot, iRobot has come up with two new models of home robots: namely, the iRobot Looj Gutter Cleaning Robot and the iRobot ConnectR Virtual Visiting Robot.

The Looj Gutter Cleaning Robot takes the unsavory job of cleaning roofing gutters and eliminates the risk actual people might accidentally have while cleaning them. The 2.25-inch high Looj drives easily under gutter straps while dislodging and sweeping out dirt, leaves and other debris.

The iRobot ConnectR, on the other hand, is more or less an automated robotic baby monitor complete with video and sound input and output capabilities. It was designed as a home wireless network so that people around the house can interact remotely with one another through the use of the ConnectR.

Both robots will be available commercially, with the Looj hitting shelves during the fourth quarter of this year and the ConnectR sometime in early 2008. With robotic servants such as these infiltrating our homes, who knows? Perhaps someday we'll be seeing actual "I, Robot" robots walking the streets.

Remember that Roomba that had an AirSoft gun mounted on top of it? We should be thankful that thing didn't have something like Colin Karpfinger's automated weapons turret or we would be fighting a war against the Roomba robot army right now.

The turret we're talking about is a programmable weapon that relies on an 8 servo serial controller and a s666n High Torque servo motor, both form Pololu Robotics. From the looks of it, the turret can take out targets on its own (Through circle detection? Somebody correct me on this if I'm wrong.) or find targets through laser guidance. It's pretty accurate, too.

According to the creator of the turret, he plans to enter his weapons platform for the Defcon Bots competition. It can also double as a friendly (okay, not quite friendly) home security tool to keep your lawn free of whatever pests might dare cross your perimeter. You can check out the video below to see it in action.

Roombas are usually known for being docile robots. They just stay out of sight, sucking up the dust and small debris that accumulate in carpets and floors. They're like serfs, doing menial jobs and easily forgettable.

Of course, history (and countless movies and books) tells us that serfs also had a tendency to take arms and rise against their lords. This particular Roomba that we came across on the Sci Fi tech blog is no different. This Roomba mod by a DIYer named Isobot is ready, willing, and able to annoy anybody within range with toe- and ankle-shots from its top-mounted AirSoft gun.

Isobot controls his laser-equipped Roomba through a laptop, navigating thanks to an onboard camera. The AirSoft pellets, which are fed into the Roomba's gun through a horizontal ammo hopper on top, are aimed using a laser sight. The Roomba can't shoot straight just yet, and it can't shoot at anything  much higher than toe-level, but hey, it's a step forward for robots who want to throw off their yokes and take over the world.

Plus, it's a great way to annoy your neighbors' cat.

The Wiimote's done the PC, the PS3, and WoW. With that hit list covered, we're bringing you news of another gadget that's just been primed to do the Wiimote's utmost bidding -  the Roomba. Chris Hughes' released a guide for prospective mecha fans out there who'd like to get more out of their portable unmanned vacuum cleaner.

Chris wrote this Roomba mod using xcode, along with Tod's Perl script. For the guys who'd like to get into the nitty-gritty of how to pull of this interesting little mod, here's a list of what you'll need:

• MacBook/Pro
• 1 Roomba
• 1 WiiRemote
• Tod's perl script
  

As for the detailed instructions and codes, check out the README located in the bundle that you can check out and download in the read link. To the guys who think they've got the technical know-how to pull this one off, we wish you the best of luck. A Wiimote-controlled Roomba...all we need now's a couple of 20-mm cannons, a rocket launcher, and we've got an OCP winner here...

Move over, Roomba, there's a new toy in town sweeping off dirt and dust from hardwood floors. Enter the Lamborghini Gallardo RC floor sweeper. Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has created a handy household helper using a US$ 15 radio-controlled car, an electrostatic dust mop, and a blank printed circuit board.

The Evil Mad Scientist detailed the steps on his website. What's really great about this nifty Roomba-replacement (sort of) is that it's quite easy to build. You just got to figure out how to attach the dust mop to the RC without breaking it. The Lamborghini happens to be the perfect car for this project as it has a little ledge with screw hole where a little plank can be attached to hold the dust mop. If you're planning to create one yourself, you can use other car types, a 4WD even.

While a Lamborghini and a dust mop don't quite look good together, they do a good job of cleaning up the dust on the floor. Watch the Lamborghini Gallardo sweeper in action!

If cleaning our rooms were as fun as VgSlag's Hoover Maneuver, we'd do it more often. We may even rediscover the floor beneath all those game covers and magazines and scattered game controllers (CRASH! Oops...there goes the DS.).

It's a very simple two-player competitive game based off a minigame in the GBA's Wario Ware. Players compete to be the first to collect 50 pieces of trash and other debris using their spinning Hoover vacuum bot. Holding down D-pad Left (for Player 1) or A (for Player 2) sends the player's respective bot in the direction it's facing. Let go and the bot stops and resumes spinning. Hoovers will bounce off each other and the walls. It's simple, but it can get hectic as opponents race to clean up the room - or each other!

VgSlag plans to add sound effects and Wi-Fi multiplayer into future versions of Hoover Maneuver. Until then, enjoy this release by downloading at the link below, and discuss it in the forums. And while you're at it, maybe you could also try cleaning up your room, after all cleanliness is next to ownage-ness, or something like that.

Download: [Hoover Maneuver]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

iRobot CEO Colin Angle's definition of a robot is a machine that is able to perceive its environment, thinks about what it perceives and acts on it. Quite a scary thought, but if applied to household appliances, it could be the answer to housewives' prayers. Imagine a robot that walks up to the table, cleans it, puts dishes away, washes them, and puts them on the cupboard. Now, that's what Angle is talking about, robots that get the job done.

Roomba and Scooba, iRobot's vacuuming and floor-scrubbing robots are quite interactive, that's why many programmers have hacked them for several purposes, one of which is to play music while vacuuming carpets.

iRobot welcomes all these modifications in its products, in fact it has released a documentation for the Roomba SCI serial protocol to make Roombas more interactive. If you have a serial port connected for the Mini DIN Port and a software to connect to the serial port, you can tell Roomba to do something completely different from its existing behaviors.

The possibilities are endless. But of course, it would be great if talented people can give some silly Roomba hacks a rest and instead come up with useful and productive Roomba projects.

Other robotics systems may have better programming environments, but with Roomba, you've got ready-built robot with built-in sensors and behaviors that can easily work with. The best part is even if you fail in your attempts at hacking, the Roomba will still clean the floor on your command.

Roomba vacuum cleaner robots have piezo beeper and several noisy motors. While these could be annoying to some people, for Tod Kurt, they served as inspiration to create RoombaMidi, a Mac OS X application that creates a virtual MIDI instrument. If you're running the application, try playing around the MIDI and watch the Roomba bust a move. Play E three octaves below middle C and the robot will spin left. Pressing the key harder will make it spin faster. A low C sharp will cause the LED to flash and hitting the key harder will change its color. The software can control up to 16 Roombas over different MIDI channels.

The demo below is hardly musical, but it's enough for you to think of legions of Roombas playing that infectious Super Mario song while you sleep at night.