The Trilobite was launched more than 20 years ago as the first household robot vacuum cleaner on the market. In terms of its shape, it still corresponds to the standard design of such appliances today – namely a disc shape, which was the usual choice and was made as flat as possible so it could ideally also pass underneath items of furniture. The design of the appliance and its name were inspired by actual trilobites, which inhabited the seabed in the Paleozoic era, i.e., around 520 to 250 million years ago, and fed on whatever they found there. The shape of these creatures was taken as the basis for the appliance’s symmetrically arranged ventilation slits with their scale-like appearance.

Unlike the robot vacuum cleaners of today, the Trilobite did not yet feature infrared sensors, lasers, or a camera. Instead, it emitted ultrasonic waves and measured their echo, just as bats use for their guidance system. This enabled the robot vacuum cleaner to identify and navigate around obstacles.

By imitating the behavior and shape of a living creature the Trilobite follows two typical principles of robot development: First, nature often acts as the role model for technical functionality; second, the animal-like design is intended to promote the acceptance of robots. Humans have been keeping pets for around 15,000 years, and robots, as a much more recent development, were and are often modeled on animals to make humans feel comfortable having them around. The nicknames we humans often give our own household robots reflect this.