Mint is a robot that can sweep or mop hard floors. It was  created by ex-NASA roboticists at Evolution Robotics, based in Pasadena, California.

The robot comes with a small navigation beacon that projects two invisible infrared beams onto a room’s ceiling. The robot uses those signals to determine its position, a bit like using GPS satellites. It learns the layout of a room as it explores it for the first time. That allows it to navigate around the edges of the room and avoid obstacles like furniture.

Credit: Technology Review