Robot vacuum cleaner for £38

According to clever people in the 1950s and 60s, life in the future - or 'now' as we are entitled to refer to it - was going to be easy. Computers would do the legwork, robots the housework and we'd be free to sit around and binge drink. So, while Early boffin got part of it right, what on earth happened to all those robots?

Apart from the criminally expensive must-have Robosapien toy from a couple of Christmases ago, nothing much happened. Until now...

Introducing the robot vacuum cleaner, the latest tip from our resident geek.

Says he: 'Until recently robot vacuums cost £1,000 and OK ones were £200-£300, which is far too expensive for something that is a bit of a gimmick. But a couple of things have changed. First, you can get a fairly decent one for less than £40 and, second, they're perfect for laminate flooring, which everyone now seems to have.

'Mine runs on rechargeable batteries and goes round a room in a few minutes, spiralling out from the middle. If it hits an obstacle such as a table leg it'll vacuum round it and continue under the table and around each leg. It sucks up all the dust and crumbs that children seem make just by breathing and does the edges really well. The only room it is not great in is where we have a deep shag carpet and the only hassle is a minor one - you have to punch in the size of the room.'

You can get one:

from ebuyer for £38 (free delivery)

or eBay for £35+£10 to £15p+p.

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>> Sellers banned from leaving negative feedback
>> My torrent of abuse from an ebay seller

Pictured: How the robot evolved (note the lack of flip flops on the modern version)