iRobot's Looj wants to clean yer damn gutters

Ok, we're going to do our best to get through this post without making any references to hocking a Looj -- ready? So, guess what turned up in the FCC today? Dad's going to be thrilled. An iRobot robot that revealed the latest place around your home they want to clean: the gutter. And we totally get it -- who likes to clean the freaking gutter, you know? Anywho, the new robot, called, ahem, Looj, has two treads, a remote control, and a strange looking "distruptor / ejector / sweeper" auger assembly for clearing out the drains. Let's cut to the chase though, iRobot, only one question remains: we're all waiting for the robotic colonic, when's the release on that?

[glucoseboy @ Aug 29th 2007 3:54PM]

Living in a two-story house with a tile (slippery) roof, I can definitely consider picking up one of these. Looks like a little r/c car with a shovel. I can lug one of these up to the roof, set it in the gutter and then drive it around.

[Patrick @ Aug 29th 2007 3:59PM]

Interesting idea. It will have to be one sturdy little robo to clean some of the nasty gutters I've seen. I'm also intrigued as to how it will clean gutters that are hung with spikes, where the clearance is quite low, as opposed to hangers. I wish them luck, cleaning gutters is pretty gross.

[Chris @ Aug 29th 2007 4:05PM]

What's with the subtle Engadget watermark on those images? Have you guys always done that?

[jonthedog @ Aug 29th 2007 4:08PM]

Amazing idea. Provided it works, imagine how quick a kid could make a ton of money in the summer.

[paragraph @ Aug 29th 2007 4:09PM]

@Chris

afir... pretty much yeah

@topic

Pretty neat however, riddle me this, riddle me that, how the fudgeberies is this thing supposed to go around corners?

Looks like I still have to get up on a ladder and touch the gutters, FOR SHAME iROBOT! FOR SHAME!

lol, looks nifty, i'll have to wait on more to make a decision if i like this or not.

[Boynamedsue @ Aug 29th 2007 4:10PM]

complicated robotics completely pwned by simply protecting your gutters with screens.

[paragraph @ Aug 29th 2007 4:19PM]

little crap gets in, and sometimes doesn't flush down :\ plus they can get blocked and gutters become useless, also they are not remote controlled.

@topic

I just realized this isn't really a robot per-say no autonomy means it's not as cool. :( i want something that will live in my gutters and clean it all out. And have a crazy vaguely sweedish sounding name too. :'( you've let me down iRobot.

[Taylor @ Aug 29th 2007 4:18PM]

Yeah, i love robots, but uh, this really seems like s pretty niche product... I can think of the few gutters i've actually cleaned in my life, and this wouldn't work with any of them for various reasons... How useful could this really be versus a $4 plastic gutter shovel? Or a leaf blower?
-Taylor

[Boynamedsue @ Aug 29th 2007 4:20PM]

ah well. as long as it follows the 3 laws.

[Hans @ Aug 29th 2007 4:23PM]

"iRobot's Looj wants to clean yer *dammed* gutters" would have been a more accurate title.

[Frankenstein Black @ Aug 29th 2007 4:23PM]

Buy Gutter Toppers and save the loot for the real iRobot "back break saver", i.e. Law Mower and Leaf Shredder...

[McGinley @ Aug 29th 2007 4:39PM]

Law Mower???

That sounds unsafe.

[Lazerface @ Aug 29th 2007 11:57PM]

a Law-mower keeps lawyers at bay, trimming them when necessary.

[why not the LS2/LS7? @ Aug 29th 2007 4:30PM]

There's no way.

I have enough trees I have to clean my gutters 2-3 times a year. And the forces involved to move all that weight of leaves is beyond any battery-powered device.

[Boynamedsue @ Aug 29th 2007 4:37PM]

you're forgetting the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101

[aeo @ Aug 29th 2007 4:43PM]

Yeah I hate cleaning my gutters once a year but not $250 worth of hate (assuming same price range of roomba/scooba).

[HineyWipe @ Aug 29th 2007 4:49PM]

Um, Roomba engineers? Excuse me but, just how do you expect to get past the Gutter nail-brackets? You know, those tubes the extend across the gutter to fasten to the roof? And you still need a ladder to setup/retrieve the unit.

I have a better idea! I'll run along and patent it...

[HineyWipe @ Aug 29th 2007 4:52PM]

Addendum: That clear phot below didn't load before my comment above. So, that handle in the illustration is not there so it could traverse under the nails...

Still. If you are gonna ladder up to each gutter...why not get a blower or HiPressure hose...or gutter covers?

[ryantrevisol @ Aug 29th 2007 4:51PM]

What is it, Pottymouth Wednesday on Engadget? What the damn hell ass frick is going on?

[tonymro... @ Aug 29th 2007 5:12PM]

Robotic colonics!?! No thank you. I do not wish to be sodomized by the iRobot Scrooj or whatever vaguely Swedish sounding name they might come up with.

[Beamey @ Aug 29th 2007 5:17PM]

the robots... "Dey tuk er jerbs!!!!"

[james @ Aug 29th 2007 5:18PM]

so does the iRobot Splooj clean out your prostate?

[Boynamedsue @ Aug 29th 2007 5:25PM]

why use a robot to do a womans job?

[Bad Beaver @ Aug 29th 2007 5:49PM]

Does it come with a robot that clear my gutters from stuck robots? *rolleyes* I've seen the Roomba contest last week, and how they had trouble with simple stuff like cable, so I've got to wonder...

Next up from iRobot: The PoopScoop 2000, goes straight down the drain.

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 29th 2007 6:15PM]

Are you talking about a loogy? Or that long pole with skate wheels you race down the hill on?

[Evan AM @ Aug 29th 2007 9:24PM]

Meh, This would be worthless on my House, I have gutters but there the Self Cleaning Kind. But this robot could clean around the Base Board inside though.

So where Do I leave Feedback for this?

[Jared Harley @ Aug 29th 2007 9:56PM]

I'm pretty sure it's pronounced luge, as in the sled that goes down a hill in a track... kinda like a gutter...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luge

[John @ Aug 30th 2007 12:37AM]

Maybe YOU'RE waiting for a robot to go up into your colon, but don't try and drag the rest of us into your sick little world.

[kombizz @ Aug 30th 2007 8:06AM]

I am going to buy it because I know how dirty is the gutter is.
http://kombizz.photosite.com/

[Mark @ Aug 30th 2007 10:20AM]

I'm not sure this is as cool as my lawnbott evolution which keeps my grass cut. It's by far the best purchase i ever made. Check'em out at http://www.lawnbotts.com

[Russell Nelson @ Aug 31st 2007 9:20AM]

I'm waiting for the iRobot Zamboni. Set it out on the backyard ice rink, and it resurfaces the ice.

[Reid @ Aug 30th 2007 1:31PM]

Wouldn't "Roofba" be more inline with the other product names?

[billy bob thorton @ Aug 31st 2007 2:27AM]

This is a worthless product unless it costs $50. There are many gutter guards on the market that render this toy completely useless since nothing gets in the gutters to begin with. It's about 5 years too late to market.

[Eric @ Sep 4th 2007 4:48PM]

My back gutter is 30+ feet off the ground. Although I have gutter guards, I still get a buildup of twigs, leaves, and other material that needs to be cleaned off (lots of trees). My options are standing on the ladder or walking across the metal roof. I might give this a shot when they come out. The back gutter is a straight line across the back of the house.