Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After carrying 10 cardboard boxes into the house, using a penknife, Chen Jin sliced through the tape of one of the boxes and opened it.
The item inside was revealed — It was a robot with a dumb yet adorable form, measuring about half a meter in height. It was “Wa-Wah,” the robot cleaner.
Not bad.
The task that Chen Jin had entrusted to Ling Feng Jing Mi Company had been completed. The pioneer batch of the mass-produced robot cleaner, Wa-Wah, was manufactured under a tight schedule. Three shifts of workers did overtime and even took on extra shifts to successfully finish the production of 1,000 robot cleaners before the final deadline. Of those, there were 10 sets that were sent to Chen Jin via express shipping.
Tearing open the packaging, he lifted the robot and observed it in detail from head to toe. Chen Jin nodded. The workmanship was smooth and exquisite, with a texture that felt fine and sleek. Every detail was painstakingly forged. It was like a perfect work of art.
“Wang Quan Long said that he had worked for more than ten years in a large international OEM company. It seems like he didn’t waste his time there. At least, he learned a lot of core skills with regards to workmanship and quality control.”
Hence, Chen Jin did not have to worry about quality issues. With a spherical head, a tiny antenna by each ear, and wide, round eyes, it had an appearance that was extremely doll-like. Silly, cute and cartoon-like. This was the first impression everyone had of it. One can only fully observe its function through its cleaning of the floorboards.
Chen Jin did not plan to give it a trial run in his own bedroom. He lifted the robot and carried it to Room 402 on the above story.
…
“Son, is this really made by your company?” With her mouth hanging wide open, He Li looked at the robot moving up and down the room as it cleaned the floor. Her face was full of shock.
Chen Jin folded his arms and lightly tilted his chin. Nodded proudly, he said, “Of course.”
“This is awesome, my son is too awesome!” He Li was so happy that she almost jumped for joy. In one move, she hugged Chen Jin and said with an incomparable sense of excitement, “My son has grown up, he can achieve big things now! This is great, this is really great!” She felt so happy and pleased and tears were spilling out from the corners of her eyes.
For many years, she was either worrying over one thing or fearing for another thing. She did worry that her over-indulgence of her son would make him too spoiled. It would be her fault if he went nowhere in life and was unable to become independent. But now, she could finally put her worries to rest. She even felt like going somewhere to cry her heart out! To cry tears of joy, because her son was not a useless bum anymore, he could do something! Even if he did not become especially outstanding or achieve great success in his career, at least she would not have to worry too much about him anymore.
Noticing the tears at the corners of her eyes, Chen Jin took two sheets of tissue paper and wiped them away. “Mom, why are you crying?”
“No reason, I’m happy! Happy!” He Li turned around and started to sob. Today, she was overjoyed.
However, Dad’s brows were creasing as he stood aside and observed the Wa-Wah robot as it cleaned.
After some consideration, he said, “Son, this robot cleaner is not bad. At least, it’s not any worse than the typical robot. But….You claimed that it could do a total cleanup in the first sweep. But it seems like it can only achieve the best results after sweeping the floor more than 10 times. 10 times? This would require at least five to six hours. Including the time for charging and changing brushes, eight to nine hours may not even be enough. Isn’t it too inconvenient to use it? It’s troublesome to use it. Can the users accept this?”
Facing his Dad’s queries, Chen Jin explained, “It’s only a little troublesome for the first usage. We have considered this problem, so we included an auto-charging function for the robot. It can also change and clean its brushes on its own. It does take a longer time to clean when it’s first used. But, it doesn’t require any interference from the user to achieve autonomous control.”
“Oh…” Chen Gang nodded. “It’s good that it doesn’t require the user’s interference. But….” He still shook his head. “It can’t bring about a positive user experience if it takes eight or nine hours to clean when it’s first used.”
He Li became upset in an instant. Charging at him, she yelled, “So what if it takes a longer time when it’s first used? Isn’t it just a few hours? Can’t it take a longer time to give better results? I can wait! I’ll buy!”
Chen Gang rolled his eyes at her. Feeling somewhat at a loss for words, he said, “I’m just standing in the consumer’s shoes and considering the problems they may face. The user experience is the most important!”
“Scram, shut up! It’s because of the user’s experience that my son designed it this way. And it can clean so well; it’ll definitely sell.”
He Li’s behavior was now similar to the single-mindedness of those crazy fans who could not accept any criticisms of their idols.
“It’s like this!” Chen Jin quickly explained, “We’ve tested it. If we go according to the highest standard of cleanliness, it needs about eight and a half hours for its first cleaning. This period of time is when the workers go to work and the children go to school. If there would be nobody at home, they can set it up to clean just before they leave. If there’s someone in the house and it’s not convenient for the robot to clean, it will split its first assigned job into three parts. After each sweep, it will mop three times. After three days, it’ll enter the smart cleaning mode. But this is not usually recommended.”
“Oh…” Chen Gang nodded. “When you put it like that, it does sound more convenient. However, there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”
“Yes, this is only the first production model from my company. As a first generation product, it can’t reach the standard of perfection. We’ve left some room for improvement. When we launch the next generation, we’ll address these problems.” Actually, Chen Jin could resolve some of the problems. But, putting aside the time needed, his production costs would also increase. Moreover, if he launched the most perfect product the first time around, how would he carry out the improvements and upgrades for the future models? So, he kept the flaws, somewhat intentionally. Of course, this would not hinder Wa-Wah from cleaning the floor until it was spotless.
Chen Gang was very surprised. “I never imagined that you’d thought so far ahead.” Looking at his son, his perception of him finally changed. Even so, he very quickly found another issue that was more critical. “This robot is too tall. Its height is over half a meter, how would it clean under the table, bed, and empty spaces blocked off by furniture? Wouldn’t there be many blind angles that it can’t clean? You must know that there are robot vacuums from many different brands who can clean corners too.”
He Li’s expression changed. She immediately turned to Chen Gang and roared, “Are you done? Do you think it’s easy for him to do something like this? Don’t we humans clean the blind angles in the houses? Moreover, can you expect a robot to reach that level of capability? Stop nitpicking!”
Chen Gang shrugged and grimaced. “I’m not nitpicking. This flaw is just too big. It could very likely create a terrible user experience. Once exposed, this flaw could directly influence the consumer’s desire to purchase. Even though other brands’ robot may not be able to achieve the same standard of cleanliness, at least they can take care of more corners.”
“You—” He Li was unable to refute his argument. She could only roll up her sleeves and charge at him angrily. “Do you want to die? Shut your mouth!”
“Don’t hit me!” Chen Gang was so frightened that he speedily retreated and begged for mercy.
“Dad, We’ve actually considered this problem that you spoke of.” Chen Jin lifted Wa-Wah from the ground and twisted off a manual clasp. Wrenching the robot’s body a couple of times, he separated it into two pieces. The top half was its cartoon-like body. The bottom half was a disk-shaped object. “We gave the robots a modular design. The bottom is in charge of cleaning; it’s not any different from the traditional robot vacuum. It can work independently and clean the dust in the blind angles. The top is responsible for mopping the floor and can achieve the highest standard of cleanliness. But it can’t operate on its own or clean the blind angles. I admit, this design may make things more inconvenient for the user. But the flaw that you mentioned is more obvious and would reduce the competitiveness of this product. So I could only deal with it in this manner.” Chen Jin continued to explain, “Usually, the robot can clean any area as long as the height is not more than 15 centimeters, and it’s in a bigger space where it has more freedom to move about.”
“Good, very good. It’s an excellent robot cleaner! I can’t find anymore flaws. Son, I’m very proud of you. You are the best!” With his neck in a stranglehold, Chen Gang said weakly, “Ok, ok. Wife, you can put down the knife at my neck…..” By now, his eyes radiated a deep desire to stay alive.
“Hmmph! That’s more like it!” He Li finally relented.
Looking at this scene, Chen Jin shook his head and smiled reluctantly. He reassembled the robot cleaner and pressed a button on its back.
Suddenly, Chen Jin gave a mysterious smile. “Dad, Mom, this robot also possesses a very interesting function. It’s especially funny, and will make you laugh for sure. This is also one of its selling points.”
“Oh?” Both husband and wife became instantly interested.
