SmartCarpet Vacuum via Gizmodo
Well, don't let it be said that people don't latch onto a new idea. A company in Germany is building a new Roomba-like vacuum cleaner; the major difference is in how they vacuum. Roomba uses a pattern until it encounters an object, then deflects and randomly changes direction. The SmartCarpet system uses RFID chips embedded into the carpet to figure out what's been covered.
I just have two words: spilled drinks. The first one will put that idea out of someone's head.