It is hard not to anthropomorphize robot vacuums. They live in your house. Some work with focused intensity, zipping back and forth; others bounce haphazardly from wall to wall. Some are loud, others quiet. Some will even bombard you with text messages while you’re at work. As I watched the Neato Botvac D5 Connected climb determinedly into a dog food bowl, the comparison that came most readily to mind was Lenny from John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

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