Socio-Technical Analysis

People & Roomba

 

In the cleaning process, as we progress as a society, we rely more and more on convenience and automation, valuing our time and effort as valuable commodities. Society no longer has the time to rely on a traditional vacuum that requires their assistance, and instead called for a technology that would still give them the peace of mind of having a clean home, without actually having to put the effort in themselves, into cleaning it. Enter the iRobot. Introduced in 2002, this new autonomous robot took away the use of a human to clean a room, and instead used a small control center, sensor board, and an army of small suctions and brushes, to clean the way into the hearts of millions of users.

The incredible socio-technical system of the iRobot and how it works, comes down to the fact that it was created solely for the users, who wanted something that 1.) wasn’t heavy, 2.) was easy to use, and 3.) they didn’t take time out of their day in order for them to do it. As technology became increasingly autonomous and automated, people wanted every aspect of their every day life to be solved for, and not have to put in any manual labor into it. They needed a vacuum that was able to be controlled with as little help as possible, which is why the very first Roomba only needed to be started with a push of the button.

As society evolved and the era of the iPhone user became the norm, technology began implementing apps, and users were now able to turn on their Roomba from wherever they were, schedule the time it would clean, and be notified when it commenced cleaning. This helped users to not only get their home clean, but put them at ease, not having to worry after a long day of work, about cleaning their home.

As explained above, the iRobot was created because a particular need was missing in the market for a automated vacuum machine. There are still many people that clean for a living, that use regular vacuums for a variety of different reasons, a few being, 1.) they feel they can get the job done faster, 2.) a regular sized vacuum picks up much more dirt and dust than an iRobot, 3.) they believe in the traditional technology aka the vacuum, and therefore are more keen to use it and more comfortable using it than replying on an automated technology. There are others who feel the need to use Roomba simply because they lack the time in their life to clean, believe it to be more convenient than a traditional vacuum, having to both not only clean with it, but lug it around as well.

As the socio-technical system is described, it is at its core, the intertwining of both technology influencing society, and society influencing technology. Humans began to depend more on technology to do their work, and even required as time wore on, the ability to control that technology from their phone, all without even having to come in contact with it. However, the technology also shaped the way in which people went about their daily life, communicated, and even distributed their time. It gave people the opportunity to have more free time to do other things they might enjoy, it allowed for example, more family time, where people can hang out with their children, while cleaning the house at the same time, an action that was unheard of with a regular vacuum. It also no longer gives parents a chore to give to their children, perhaps making more time for kids to study or hang out with their friends.

Overall, the Roomba replaced the unbearable task of having to clean and make time to clean a house, with a small machine that did everything for you. It gave people and families more time to spend time together, it gave people who worked busy schedules the reassurance their home would be clean after a long day at work, and it helped partially take away the need of the human in the everyday cleaning process. While a human is still needed to press a button on the app to activate the Roomba, or a human is needed to clean the Roomba and dump any dirt out, it still maintains to be an extremely helpful piece of socio-technical advancement for society, which will continue to see its evolvement as newer technologies are introduced, and the needs of society become even greater.

 

Information courtesy of: Tested.com