News, Dressing and naming vacuum cleaners. (outside, pictures, purchase, Georgia)

[John1960]

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- They give them nicknames, worry when they signal for help and sometimes even treat them like a trusted pet.

new study shows how deeply some Roomba owners become attached to the robotic vacuums, and suggests there's a measure of public readiness to accept robots in the house -- even flawed ones.

"They're more willing to work with a robot that does have issues because they really, really like it," said Beki Grinter, an associate professor at Georgia Tech's College of Computing. "It sort of begins to address more concerns: If we can design things that are somewhat emotionally engaging, it doesn't have to be as reliable."

Grinter decided to study the devices after she saw online pictures of people dressing up their Roombas, the disc-shaped, self-directed vacuums made by Burlington, Mass-based iRobot Corp.

Dressing and naming vacuum cleaners - CNN.com

[Roma]

I love my Roombas. Yes, they all are named too! (I own 3).

1) Ruby
2) Ruby 2
3) Scooby

The reason we named our second Roomba Ruby 2 is because we were going to return Ruby 1 for the updated model (Ruby 2) but decided to keep Ruby 1 because we felt bad returning her because we love her!!!!! It's not her fault that she isn't as strong and powerful as Ruby 2. So we kept her. It felt like were returning a pet we had for a month and we got attached to her. Can't do it!!!

[Shopaholic]

That is so funny! I have an Oreck, not a Roomba, and even thought I love it I haven't given it a name. Maybe I should get on that! I named my first car Ginger, but I think that is the only machine that I have ever named.

[Tesaje]

Ok, dressing up my Roomba is a bit much. I do call mine Robbie the Robot despite the female voice and I do realize I am showing my age with that. But Robbie does pretty well and I don't have to do much. He also doesn't scare the animals like the regular vac does. He is somewhat amusing.

[Maia160]

Mine have kept their original names: Roomba, Scooba and Dirt Dog. I want to purchase two more Roomba's; when I do I might reconsider re-naming them. I do not dress them as that seems silly. However, when they beep I ask them "What's wrong" and tell them "Don't worry, I'll take care of it". I guess that an outsider might think I'm crazy but it seems rude not to answer them.

[NorthmeetsSouth]

Originally Posted by Maia160

Mine have kept their original names: Roomba, Scooba and Dirt Dog. I want to purchase two more Roomba's; when I do I might reconsider re-naming them. I do not dress them as that seems silly. However, when they beep I ask them "What's wrong" and tell them "Don't worry, I'll take care of it". I guess that an outsider might think I'm crazy but it seems rude not to answer them.

ROFL!!!!
My mother used to tell me that you should be polite to everyone, just so that it becomes habit. She would definitely approve of your excellent manners when dealing with your vacuums!