Gadgets With John Davidson

Fancy a robot to clean your windows? This one will give it a shot

In coming years, when they somehow manage to have spinning, self-cleaning pads in window cleaners the way they now do in robovacs, we’ll look back at this version of the Winbot and think of nappies.

John DavidsonColumnist

Mar 31, 2025 – 2.24pm

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Back in the early days of robovacs, when companies like iRobot were first experimenting with adding simple, vibrating mop pads to their vacuum cleaners, we used to think of the robots as little toddlers dressed in microfibre nappies, dragging their arses over our floors.

When the nappy was still fresh and clean, doubtless there was at least some benefit to having the toddler drag it over the floor. But by the end of the mopping process, it was never clear whether the robot nappy mop was cleaning the floor or merely smearing dirt all over it.

John Davidson is an award-winning columnist, reviewer, and senior writer based in Sydney and in the Digital Life Laboratories, from where he writes about personal technology.