What does that technology rekindle or retrieve from the past that is a recurring theme of history?
Dr. Thornburg’s Rhymes of History stated a very important point this week that “new technologies” are really just progressions or growths of previous ones. I remembering watching this episode of the Jetsons where with just a press of a button this robot vacuum would turn on and clean their whole floor! This reminds me of the iRobot vacuum my grandmother purchased 4 years ago.
This iRobot rekindles vacuum cleaning from the past. The vacuum cleaner was invented due to advancements brought about by the Industrial Revolution. The original vacuum cleaner progressed right along with time. In 1899 with the gasoline powered vacuum cleaner, 1901 with the electric vacuum cleaner, and fast forward to 1969 with the first self propelled vacuum cleaner. Then in 2002, iRobot inventor Helen Greiner along with colleagues, introduced Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner. While some people would call this iRobot a "new technology," Thornburg would remind us that it is really just a progression of the vacuum cleaners of the past!
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLIPLiQDIk0
Website: http://store.irobot.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3334619
Timeline of Vacuum Cleaner: http://timerime.com/en/timeline/288654/History+of+the+Vacuum+Cleaner
Lauren as always your information is right on. The robotic vacuum is a stretch for me. What it does do is connect back to a time when the domestic chores of housewives were made easier by modern appliances, but more specifically totally removing any physical responsibilities. This assignment was tough. For example, instant messenger in the classroom is just history repeating itself with kids passing messages except they are not using paper and will press delete if caught instead of eating the paper. Of course, this is a stretch. Furthermore, internet dating could be considered a blind date or arranged match making using technology to making the end goal easier. Any ideas what is the modern version of a message in a bottle?
ReplyDeleteThis is a technology I would love to invest in. This allows us to clean quicker and do more than one task. This technology is continue to evolve.
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