Cleaner robot “Lotus”

2005

CD: Tatsuya Matsui
CCD: Tatsuya Matsui
D: Tatsuya Matsui, Hiroyuki Hoshino

Vacuum cleaner robots are quickly being commercialized in many countries and various types are coming into the market. At the request of an American corporation, we got involved in the design and development of a prototype. After having collected information about the price range, targeted users, and the number of products to be marketed, we examined a suitable design, and decided to have a “Lotus” as the concept. Beautiful lotus flowers bloom in the environment that by no means can be said beautiful. A Japanese proverb says “Lotus in mud.” It means there are beautiful flowers without being affected by the environment that is not beautiful at all. The cleaner robot in our conception has a removable cylinder-shaped container of dust in the center. In the end, however, we quit the job because we were appalled by the way how different appliance manufacturers scrambled for a complex profit scheme. We regarded ourselves as “Lotus in mud” because we worked out a dignified plan despite such a situation.