ASUS subsidiary AGAiT Technology is Roomba-ing into the market with their robotic vacuum cleaner, the EC01 E-Cleaner. As well as offering similar cleaning functionality to that of its rivals, the EC01 also benefits from a sanitizing UV lamp which disinfects as the unit vacuums.
The E-Cleaner travels around a dirty room in up to five pre-programmed cleaning patterns at between 16.5 and 18.5 cm per second. It can clean a room in about 30 minutes. As the unit vacuums up the dust and dirt, an extra level of cleanliness is afforded by the onboard sanitizing UV lamp (which is claimed to be good for 6000 hours of use). If it comes to the top of a flight of stairs, its cliff sensor will reroute its 
pattern.
The 14.4V Ni-MH rechargeable battery will recharge in three hours which will provide enough power for 90 minutes of cleaning. When the unit detects that its charge is low, or when it has finished its cleaning, it will automatically return to the charging station. AGAiT has included a place in the upper cover for storage of the remote control.
The E-Cleaner will be made available shortly to households in China and Taiwan for about $160. It should make the states by Summer, 2010
