
Roomba creator responds to reports of ‘poopocalypse’: ‘We see this a lot’ - r721
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/15/roomba-robot-vacuum-poopocalypse-facebook-post
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timmaxw
Idea: Make the Roomba treads light-colored. Point an LED and photodetector at
the top of the tread, the part that's inside the robot. If the reflectivity of
the surface ever changes suddenly, then either something is stuck in the wheel
or the wheel is tracking something around the house, so the Roomba should stop
and alert the user.

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jsinkwitz
If they see it a lot, then it sounds like it would be economically worth
developing a version for pet owners.

Rough ideas: detect moisture in material. If soemthing 'wet' is detected on
the bumper, halt. Just halt. It isn't worth it.

Otherwise, would need to have the ability to shampoo/wetvac, and that's
something I don't think would work in a tiny device.

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sly010
My first thought:

A poop is probably capacitive, you could detect it without even touching it.

My second thought:

What else has capacitive sensors and how could I test this theory?

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StavrosK
...your phone screen now has poop stains on it, doesn't it.

