More and more we are finding gadgets that are apparently useful around the home, those that are not designed just for fun, but have a purpose too.

Generally, the purpose is one of time and labour saving, and a great number of these gadgets do a job that can be done just as easily without purchasing said gadget, yet the attraction of being able to sit back and let a gadget do the work is always appealing.

The robot hoover

Among these, one of the favourites in recent years is the robot vacuum cleaner or hoover, a gadget that performs an essential task in a non-essential way. Of course, watching a machine do the floors is amusing, but this gadget extends far beyond being a mere item of interest.

It works by roaming around the room on wheels, and changing direction, in a seemingly random but actually pre planned manner, whenever it hits a wall or item of furniture. It is also programmed to ‘go to sleep’ when its on board computer tells it the job has been completed, and is charged from the mains electricity overnight.

The drawbacks

This is a great gadget for doing a job that you really don’t want to do, particularly as it can be done when you are out, but there are drawbacks – it can’t climb stairs, has a problem with split level floors, and can only do the room it has been left in.

Useful though they are, most gadgets do have their limitations – even those that are designed to be of help, such as the robot hoover described, or the satellite navigation device that doesn’t differentiate between a farm track and a dual carriageway. Many an enormous truck has become stranded in this manner, particularly in rural areas where the roads are not so well mapped.

Common sense

The sat-nav – like the robot hoover, highlights the very reason why relying on gadgets can be a dangerous escapade – well, not necessarily dangerous, but hardly a wise choice – as they do not possess that one thing that is inherent in most humans – common sense.

Common sense tells us that the road we are on is a track through a field and not Route 66, and tells us that we haven’t hovered that bit in the corner that is thick with dust.

However, it fails to tell us that we don’t need more gadgets!