History Main / InTheFutureWeStillHaveRoombas

* The Peebos in ''Gold Digger''.

"Robot" once meant "slave". Nowadays it's used for any person-like machine; apparently the RobotUprising already happened in fictionland. So it can be a bit surprising when an otherwise futuristic robot's primary purpose is something mundane, like cleaning or assembling automobiles, even though that's exactly what they do in RealLife. (In case it wasn't clear, the Roomba is a small robotic vacuum cleaner.)

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Many robots, [[ShapedLikeItself especially the Roomba.]]
* [=NASA=]'s Personal Satellite Assistants assuming they aren't VaporWare.

* One of the common uses for drones in the ''Franchise/MasEffect'' setting. The geth were''originally'' designed for this purpose, but tinkering with their networked intelligence resulted in the geth gaining collective sentience, and [[RobotWar things went downhill from there.]]

* VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution: Adam Jensen has a roomba in his office, earlier games have cleaning robots roaming around.

* Leeron uses these in ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann''.

** At one point, Gil and Tarvek realize that the first generation Dingbots (the one's Agatha makes herself) are profoundly different from the standard AI of the Clanks (robot soldiers and/or servants) that exist all over the GirlGenius setting. In this case, they appear to have "The Spark" (the insane genius aspect that allows for amazing inventions that may bend the very laws of physics).

* In ''{{Idiocracy}}'', a floor cleaning robot is shown repeatedly banging into a wall announcing "Your floor is now clean!" over and over. Given the putrid condition of the floor everywhere but where the robot is, it had been at this for a long time.

This kind of robot can help to set the work on the hard end of the MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness. It's likely to be found in MundaneDogmatic stories.

----
!!Examples:

[[AC: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''GundamSEED'':
** Birdy.
** A small robot called Haro has appeared in multiple series.
* Leeron uses these in ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann''.
* In ''OutlawStar'', the title ship is full of little canister-shaped robots that do repairs and minor labor, and which act as extensions of the ship's AI. The crew paints faces on them.

[[AC: {{Commercials}}]]
* General Motor's Superbowl robot nightmare commercial.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* The Peebos in ''Gold Digger''.
* ''Mr Terrific'' has his T-spheres although they overlap sometimes with AttackDrone or SurveillanceDrone.
* Robyn "[[GadgeteerGenius Toy Box]]" Slinger uses these in ''TopTen'' to [[TheyFightCrime fight crime]].

[[AC: {{Film}}]]

** The little mouse robot in the hallway of the Death Star. Perhaps also the larger one seen in Palpatine's entrance.
** The even smaller one in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.

* ''TheFifthElement'' has the cleaning robots that instantly jump into action in Zorg's office.
* Several in ''WallE''. Nearly every non human character is one of these.
* In ''{{Idiocracy}}'', a floor cleaning robot is shown repeatedly banging into a wall announcing "Your floor is now clean!" over and over. Given the putrid condition of the floor everywhere but where the robot is, it had been at this for a long time.
* In the ''Film/IronMan'' movies, Tony has robotic arm things to help him out when he is inventing, in his garage/lab, one of which he calls "butter-fingers". They seem to get in the way more than help him though and at one point he threatened to donate one to a city college.
* ''Film/BatteriesNotIncluded'' has self-replicating MechanicalLifeforms.
* Most robots from ''Film/{{Runaway}}'' are designed for one basic, tedious function, although they're not always very good at their tasks. The main character is a policeman whose chief duty is shutting down menial robots that malfunction.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Harry Harrison's ''TheStainlessSteelRat's Revenge''. The Robotnik (robot hotel) has a luggage robot (with tentacles to grab bags) that sings a little song to every guest who arrives. It also has bellboy robots to show guests to their rooms.
* RayBradbury's short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" was about the collapse of a house still being run by mini robots long after humanity had died.

[[AC:LiveActionTelevision]]
* The [=DRDs=] from ''Series/{{Farscape}}''.
* The Skutters from ''Series/RedDwarf''.
* In an episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Data discovers that robots of this type, called exocomps, have actually gained sentience. He then starts to fight for their rights.

[[AC:RealLife]]

* [=NASA=]'s Personal Satellite Assistants assuming they aren't VaporWare.

[[AC: TabletopGames]].

* In ''TabletopGame/EngineHeart'', the Roomba is ''You!!''

[[AC: VideoGames]]
* In one level of ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'', Joanna must follow little cleaning robots to get into secret passages that only open for them.
* Much like ''Perfect Dark'' example above, one level of ''VideoGame/DreamfallTheLongestJourney'' has Zoe sneaking into a corporate headquarters by following cleaning bots through passages that open for them.

[[AC: WebComics]]

* The little "dingbots" in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' definitely fit. They are amusing, very mildly anthropomorphic little builder bots that can make [[GreyGoo more copies of themselves]] out of odd bits and parts, and cause (generally helpful, and rather cute) lab infestations. They build things rather shoddily if left to their own devices, resulting in CloneDegeneration.

* In ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'', Pintsize (himself an AI) attaches a rocket drive to an actual Roomba. The Roomba flies off through the window, [[BrickJoke only to return several strips later]] - ''together with a family of little airborne kids!''.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', there are many robots fulfilling this role, such as carnivorous waffle irons.

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}'' features Fire Drones in ''Legends of Metru Nui''.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Bender lampshades this by complaining about small robots cleaning up the trash at a not-baseball game (after he throws some trash).

* Helper from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''.
* Tarantulas in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' has little arachnoid robots that fulfill any number of menial roles such as serving as flashlights, lugging equipment around, and putting Tarantulas back together when necessary.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has dozens of helper robots working for Dexter. Two of them even got an ADayInTheSpotlight episode.

** The Pit Droids in the podrace segment of ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''

* Most robots from ''Runaway'' are designed for one basic, tedious function, although they're not always very good at their tasks. The main character is a policeman whose chief duty is shutting down menial robots that malfunction.

* The robots from ''Runaway'' are generally designed for some basic, tedious function, although they're not always very good at their tasks. The main character is a policeman whose chief duty is shutting down menial robots that malfunction.

* The robots from ''Runaway'' are generally designed for one moderately-simple function, although they're not always very good at their tasks. The main character is a policeman whose main duty is shutting down menial robots that malfunction.

* [[FantasticFour Reed Richards]] uses little flying robots called "[=HERBIEs=]" as his assistants and gofers. These are a CanonImmigrant from the 1970's F.F. cartoon series.

* ''StarWars'' has several.

** The even smaller one in ''{{Revenge of the Sith}}''.
** The Pit Droids in the podrace segment of ''ThePhantomMenace''

* ''Film/BatteriesNotIncluded'': the self-replicating MechanicalLifeforms.

* The Skutters from ''{{Red Dwarf}}''.
* In an episode of ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Data discovers that robots of this type, called exocomps, have actually gained sentience. He then starts to fight for their rights.

* In ''{{Traveller}}'', the adventure "Research Station Gamma" has maintenance (cleaning) robots.
* In ''EngineHeart'', the Roomba is ''You!!''
* In ''{{Paranoia}}'', scrubots are one of the most common types of bot.

* In one level of ''PerfectDark'', Joanna must follow little cleaning robots to get into secret passages that only open for them.
* Much like ''Perfect Dark'' example above, one level of ''[[TheLongestJourney Dreamfall]]'' has Zoe sneaking into a corporate headquarters by following cleaning bots through passages that open for them.

* ''SluggyFreelance'': the Digbots.
* The little "dingbots" in ''GirlGenius'' definitely fit. They are amusing, very mildly anthropomorphic little builder bots that can make [[GreyGoo more copies of themselves]] out of odd bits and parts, and cause (generally helpful, and rather cute) lab infestations. They build things rather shoddily if left to their own devices, resulting in CloneDegeneration.
* In ''QuestionableContent'', Pintsize (himself an AI) attaches a rocket drive to an actual Roomba. The Roomba flies off through the window, [[BrickJoke only to return several strips later]] - ''together with a family of little airborne kids!''.

* ''{{Bionicle}}'': Fire Drones from ''Legends of Metru Nui''.
* ''{{Futurama}}'': Bender lampshades this by complaining about small robots cleaning up the trash at a not-baseball game (after he throws some trash).

* ''DextersLaboratory'': has dozens of helper robots working for Dexter. Two of them even got an ADayInTheSpotlight episode.

"Robot" once meant "slave". Nowadays it's used for any person-like machine; apparently the RobotUprising already happened in fictionland. So it can be a bit surprising when an otherwise futuristic robot's primary purpose is something mundane, like cleaning or assembling automobiles, even though that's exactly what they do in RealLife.

* DeusExHumanRevolution: Adam Jensen has a roomba in his office, earlier games have cleaning robots roaming around.

* Helper from ''VentureBros''.
* Tarantulas in ''BeastWars'' has little arachnoid robots that fulfill any number of menial roles such as serving as flashlights, lugging equipment around, and putting Tarantulas back together when necessary.

* RayBradbury's short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" was about the collapse of a house ran by mini robots long after humanity had died.

* Tarantulas in ''{{BeastWars}}'' has little arachnoid robots that fulfill any number of menial roles such as serving as flashlights, lugging equipment around, and putting Tarantulas back together when necessary.

* In the InteractiveFiction version of ''Game/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', two cleaner robots on the Vogon ship make it rather more difficult than it probably should be to get a Babelfish out of the vending machine.