The Looj is a rain gutter cleaning domestic robot made and sold by iRobot.
The Looj is not an autonomous robot but rather a remote-controlled robot patterned after a toy tank with a power drill mounted on it.
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To operate the Looj it is first placed onto the user's person, using the clip or holster that comes with the robot. The user then places the Looj inside the gutter, removing the detachable handle which houses the remote control unit.
The Looj can move forwards and backwards and the auger can spin in both directions to control the direction in which the debris is flung.
After driving the robot back and forth through the gutters it is driven back to the starting position, where the user can pick it up by attaching the handle. Once cleaning is finished the robot can be washed with running water as the Looj is waterproof to 1 foot (30 cm) deep.
The Looj is a 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) tall and 3.25 inches (8.3 cm) wide robot that fits inside most gutters to clean out debris stuck inside them, such as leaves and pine needles. It has long treads on its side which allow it to move inside the gutter and an auger attached to its front. The auger, spinning at 500 RPM, dislodges and removes almost all of the debris inside the gutter by flinging it into the air. It also has a detachable handle/remote, with a 75 feet (23 m) range, that is used to carry and operate the robot.
It comes with a 7.2V Nickel Cadmium rechargeable battery. On a full charge of 15 hours the robot can run for 30 to 45 minutes.
The Looj was received favourably by reviewers prior to release. Crunch gear said "If you place your ladder at a corner of the house – and your gutters are wide enough – you can easily clean out two sides of a house in a few minutes."[1]
Looj won the Best of CES Innovations Award: Home Appliances in 2008.[2]
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