A connected spot cleaning robot for unexpected messes on any floor type
OvervieW
As part of my internship at iRobot over the summer of 2017, I worked on an independent project in addition to my daily support for the ID/UX team.
I was asked to design a new robot that would fit iRobot's brand identity, to empower people to do more. I sketched out a number of concepts before choosing a focus, conducted internal research on consumer needs, studied mechanisms, met with engineering advisors to ensure a feasible design, visualized an updated app UX for iRobot, and created a model of the final product, a spot cleaning robot named Ella.
Process
After a number of concept explorations, I built off of the idea of a pet spot cleaner and decided to design a general spot cleaner for unexpected messes on all floor types in the home.
Research
Summary
Participant demographics: most live in apartments or multi-story homes, even age distribution anywhere from 18-50+, avg. 2-4 household members, 50% have pets, 70% don't have kids under 10 but those who do have avg. 1-2 kids
Home & cleaning information: avg. homes have majority wood floors with half as much carpet and some tile, most people share cleaning responsibilities, most common spills/stains include colored drinks/food and dirt/mud/grass, most accidents occur on wood floor with tile, carpet, and countertops as close seconds
Spot cleaning: most people clean up accidents right away (only about half use methods specific for the type of spill), 95% care if it leaves a stain but people only rate their confidence of cleaning it correctly at 3.6/10
Key Takeaways
Spills occur on all types of surfaces, particularly wood, carpet, and tile.
People care if accidents leave stains, but they are not very confident in their ability to treat them correctly.
A robot would be trusted to take care of spills (and appreciated) if the experience was less of a hassle than just cleaning by hand and didn't create a bigger mess.
Pros: lift up stains from deep down rather than just treating surface, powerful, effective clean
Cons: bulky machine, noisy, requires physical labor
Watch this video for a few seconds to see how powerful a combination of scrubbing and suction can be.
Early Design
Through sketching, I began to define the robot's components, functions, look, and user experience.
Meetings with Advisors
Before going too far, I met with two engineers to ensure my idea was feasible and to understand the technical side to inform my design.
Desktop Prototyping
I then made a foam core model to figure out general sizing of the robot body and tanks, touchpoint interactions, and the solution dispensing mechanism.
Design Development
Now that I understood the engineering behind my design, I worked on refining the details before moving into CAD.
The name Ella came from playing around with the word spill and the theme of secret agent. I wanted the robot's name to sound a little delicate while its performance is unexpectedly powerful.
CAD
Early Stages
Technical Drawing
App
A big thank you to everybody who helped me throughout this project!
