I was close to buying ‘Robo-Vacuum’, the automatic hoovering system. I’d been impressed by ‘Ellen’, the lawn cutting version, but as we don’t have a lawn my interest was limited. Automatic hovering, though, looked as if it might save some time. You set the physical boundaries for the machine and then it carries on bustling around the floor into all the corners, bashing itself gently against the limits and bouncing back, until it has swept up every bit of dust within its reach.
I never bought one because I thought it might be a health and safety hazard near stairs.
Now there’s a new kid on the block, ‘Robo-Tourist’. It will save you time when you’re visiting Kiruna, and you won’t have to plan anything for yourself.
Basically, the system sets your limits – geographically, and in terms of activities – and then lets you bash around within them for the couple of days you are here. The limits are set by the tourist organisations and include all the usual things – dog sledding, snow scooters, northern lights tours (only in certain places and certain times though), the ice hotel and a short distance away from it. If you sign up you can be absolutely sure you won’t stray off the course they’ve laid out for you. This is also a benefit to local people who will know that they can enjoy the rest of the landscape and all it has to offer without tripping over tourists all the time.
