Three Harvard graduate students have developed a revolutionary new way to operate a vacuum cleaner. Although exasperation with household chores was not the motivation for their invention, the three participants in a Harvard science program have created a breakthrough mechanism which enables the vacuum cleaner to operate on its own. What the student scientists finally did, in fact, is make a robot. "We didn't make the robot for its efficiency, although it's close to what we want," says Paul M. Jury, one of the machine's creators. Completed this past summer, the contraption--a one-foot high, triangular arrangement of plastic orange panels, ultrasonic sensors, and wheels--is the only one of its kind in the country, according to its makers, Jury, Patrick J. Lusk and Tim S. Farlow '84. The three graduate students conceived of the robot in a computer software engineering course they took two years ago. "We started talking about it in the course as a project using computer software," says Farlow, who was responsible for the computer end of the project.

"We thought about making a robot that was programmable through a real computer on the robot. As it turned out, we used a radio link and programmed it through a separate computer." The "Tiger Vac," as they call it, holds a small, relatively simple computer in its body which takes signals from the main computer--in this case, the Apple "Mackintosh"--and translates them into actual movements. Building the "Tiger Vac", also known as a "programmable mobile platform," involved the intricate and lengthy construction of separate components, which ultimately were placed on the robot's main structure. The students did most of the building in conjuction with a Physics 123 course they were taking. With the aid of computers, "Popular Electronics" magazines, a car battery, tiny flashlights, a complex system of computer algorithms, meters, wires, antennas, over $1500, and an inveterate approach of trial and error, the three graduate students finally completed the project, which will likely be marketed, although in a somewhat different form.

As their next step, the builders will add the robot--after some comprehensive modification--to a vacuum cleaner, a practical use not part of the original design. cheap george vacuum cleaner bagsWhile the machine was not originally designed for housecleaning purposes, it can be programmed through the communication of its two computers to perform a certain movement or series of movements--a vacuum cleaner following a programmed map, for example. vacuum cleaner dealer in kolkataAnother function which enhances the robot's utility, according to its creators, is its ability to perform a series of movements on its own through the use of its ultrasonic sensors. mini vacuum cleaner in singaporeThese sensors are in the form of strips on the side panels that send signals back to the computer's Central Processing Unit of the main computer in case the robot--or in this case the vacuum cleaner--bumps into an object on the floor that it must evade.

More important is the mechanism which actually steers the robot, a camera which sends out a signal and gets reflections from objects back--in the same way a radar does--and adjusts its direction accordingly, Jury says. This "sensory" function is what makes the robot unique, according to Jury. In general, robots are "open--loop robots" that go to a specific point and perform a specific function. Stanford University's Science Department developed a robot with visual--and not sonar--capacity: a camera on the robot takes pictures of a room and changes direction according to the pictures, visually "mapping out" the room. But this robot "is too expensive and takes eight hours to get across a single room because of its process of taking pictures and then programming," says Jury. Having been somewhat limited in resources and money--which was raised largely by the Harvard Science Department--the students would like to somehow raise more money on their own to make a better one. "If we did it all over again we could make it half the size.

Conceivably, we could go to a computer company and give them the design of the entire board (the main mechanism in the robot, about two square feet in size), and they could put it all on a single chip," says Jury. Although the three inventors have yet to obliterate the tasks of ironing, dusting, or doing laundry, they have brought society a little closer to the world of Woody Allen's Sleeper with their motile vacuuming contraption. "Everybody said it couldn't be done," says Jury, "But we finally did it." Read more in News Ike Club Charges Charter HindranceVAC-U-MAX is a premier manufacturer of industrial vacuum cleaning systems for production lines and other dust-intensive areas. With a VAC-U-MAX heavy-duty industrial vacuum cleaning system on site, both your capital equipment and your employees will be safer and cleaner. So put our field-proven industrial vacuum cleaning systems to work for you, and watch dust and other particulate contamination simply disappear. Model 30 and Model 55 Dry Only

Model 30 and Model 55 Wet and Dry Only Model 30 and Model 55 with Pulse Filter Cleaner SR- Submerged Recovery Vacuum Cleaner Model TK Liquid Recovery/Transfer Tank Kit Unit Electric Drum-Top Vacuum Cleaners: Model 30 E and 55 E Vacuum for Scrap Trim Recovery of Tube Filling Pac Vac I Scrap Recovery Unit Dust Free Sanding Systems: Source Capture Sanding Systems and Sanders Model 110: Cleanup of Non-dusty areas Model 110 MFS: Cleanup of Dusty Areas Model 1020 B: Non-dusty materials such as cast iron, steel or aluminum chips and sludge Model 1020 FP: Continuous dual-pulse jet filter cleaning for difficult powders Model 1020 MFS: Manual filter cleaning mechanism Model 1500 FP: Pulse jet filter cleaning filter media for fine powders Model 1500 Compact: Bulky materials such as metal and wood chips Central Vacuum Cleaning Systems: Model 1040A-02 Filter Separator withHome Accommodation Living in Residences 'How To' Appliance User Guides Vacuum CleanerUsing the Vacuum Cleaner

• Plug appliance into the wall.• Connect the handles firmly until you hear a click. Turn the hose clockwise into the base.• Press the green Start button to begin cleaning. To increase power, press the red Hi-Power button.• Press the lever on the head of the vacuum to engage or disengage brush mechanism. • Turn the appliance off before cleaning the appliance.• To change the filter, unclick the top of the vacuum and remove the filter holder. Close the filter lid and throw away the used filter bag.• Attach a new filter bag to the hose, replace filter holder and re-snap the top of the vacuum. • Only use the vacuum cleaner for normal dry household dust and dirt.• Do not vacuum areas that contain moisture, water, inflammable matter, or small sharp objects such as needles or pins.• When rewinding the power cord, hold the plug body before pressing the rewind button to prevent whipping. Things to consider before reporting a problem with the vacuum cleaner: