Yeah, so much for the 21st century. No flying cars, no real jet packs, and I would look so scary in a silver jumpsuit.

But, more practically---does that thing work well? I really should vacuum 3-4 times a day with this crowd--it would be easier with a robot...plus, there's the entertainment value when the robot meets the cat....

Yes, it works and fairly well. It is good at picking up surface dirt and stuff like bits of cereal and such. It isn't good at deep cleaning and doesn't have a lot of suction power. I have to go back and get the stuff along baseboards. It also tends to get stuck on the fringe edge of one of my carpets.

But it does transition from tile to carpet very well. It is smart enough not to toss itself down the stairs. As an experiment I put it up on my table and it never fell off. It is light enough to be easily carried, even by my kids. It will run for over an hour on one charge. It is low enough to get under things like beds.

And, yes, it is dang entertaining. Doubly so if one has a pet, I'd imagine.

I just found this over on msnbc.com (after reading another article on how people will be marrying robots in 50 years...) and I immediately thought of "Steve"...