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You can trust your Roomba with your home's dirty secrets
Earlier this week, iRobot and its CEO Colin Angle came under a bit of fire after Reuters reported that the company was looking to sell maps of customers' homes to companies like Amazon, Apple or Alphabet. The idea behind such a move was that maps of consumers' homes could help inform other smart devices, like lighting and thermostats, about the physical environment they're in. "There's an entire ecosystem of things and services that the smart home can deliver once you have a rich map of the home that the user has allowed to be shared," Angle told Reuters.
Roomba creator wants to do for gardens what he did for your floors
Let's be honest: while planting your garden can be fun, weeding it usually isn't. Not unless you enjoy crouching down for long stretches, anyway. You might not have to endure the drudgery for too much longer, though. Roomba co-creator Joe Jones and Franklin Robotics are launching Tertill, a robot that weeds your garden all by itself. The machine automatically roams the soil, using sensors to identify small plants (you use collars to protect young crops) and chop them down. It's solar-powered, so you don't have to dock it -- you can even leave it out in the rain.
iRobot's entry-level Roombas offer app control on the cheap
iRobot is bringing Wi-Fi connectivity to its cheaper Roomba vacuum cleaning robots. The company is unveiling two new models today, the 690 and 890, which sit below its top-of-the-line 960 and 980 machines. Unlike the 650 and 860 -- its previous low-end robots -- they can be controlled through the iRobot Home app. That means you customise their cleaning schedule, check their "cleaning status" and access customer support from any Android or iOS device. The Roomba 690 goes on sale today for $375 in the US -- the same price as the 650 it's replacing. The Roomba 890, meanwhile, will be out in "late Q2" for a yet-to-be-confirmed price.
iRobot starts a patent war over robot vacuums (update: ITC case)
It's getting nasty in the robot vacuum arena. iRobot has filed lawsuits against Bissell, Black & Decker, Bobsweep, iLife and Hoover for allegedly violating several patents for the concept of an autonomous room-cleaning robot. The company "will not stand by" as rivals "infringe on our intellectual property" by making similar competing machines, according to a statement. We've reached out to the companies targeted by the lawsuits and will let you know how they're responding, although it's safe to say they aren't likely to roll over.
Now Roombas check in with 'Clean Map' reports to your phone
How do you know if your Roomba has cleaned every inch of your floor? If you have one of the wirelessly connected series 900 Roombas, you'll start getting "Clean Map" reports through the iRobot Home app for Android and iOS. The machines now map the parts of your home they've cleaned by combining adaptive navigation with visual localization. You'll get those maps as part of the new reports, along with how much time the Roomba spent vacuuming and what the dirtiest parts of your house are. The app can now also send you push notifications on the robot's cleaning status.
Control Neato's robot vacuum with Amazon Alexa voice commands
Getting your robotic vacuum to clean the house is usually a matter of setting a timer or pressing a start button -- but what if you could just ask it to get to work? If you happen to own an Amazon Echo and a Neato Botvac Connected robot vacuum, now you can. Today the company announced that its Wifi-connected vacuum cleaner will take commands from Amazon Alexa. The feature is extremely straightforward, and features just two commands: start and stop.
The Roomba 960 is iRobot's cheaper app-driven robot vacuum
The $900 WiFi-connected Roomba 980 is pretty exorbitant for many folks, nice as it is, so Robot has launched the $700 Roomba 960. The new model has a less powerful motor and battery, but retains the WiFi connectivity, floor mapping and app control of the high-end model. The price is the same as Neato's BotVac Connected, so it could sway techy users who really want the extra control a smartphone brings. By contrast, the cheapest, non-connected Roomba 650 is $375.
Next for iRobot: A cute $199 kitchen and bathroom mop bot
After tackling ever-complex vacuuming, sweeping and mopping bots for most of your house, iRobot took a surprising turn for its latest product: it went small and cheap. The company's new $199 Braava Jet is a tiny thing meant to clean all of the nooks and crannies of your kitchen and bathroom. It's basically a miniaturized version of the company's Braava floor mopping robot (which itself is based on technology it acquired from Evolution Robotics, which used to make the Mint floor sweeping robot.) Given its price and tiny size, the Braava Jet could open up the dream of automated home cleaning to consumers who'd scoff at the pricy entry point for Roombas (which is around $300 for an outdated model these days).
ICYMI: Robot news round-up, 3D hand scanner and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-439685{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-439685, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-439685{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-439685").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: iRobot sold its line of military robots to a US-based firm to focus on Roomba and a new chameleon robot changes color to blend in; a student built a 3D scanner with cameras and Raspberry Pi that is much cheaper than any other scanner; and a new pedestrian detection software from the University of California, San Diego, is nearly as fast as the human brain.
Neato's new vacuum is cheaper than Roomba, but more trouble
In the robot vacuum wars, Neato has made a name for itself by developing cheaper, laser-guided devices that are just as effective as iRobot's Roombas. In fact, while Roombas have been bouncing around walls for years with no real intelligence (something that's finally changed with the camera-equipped Roomba 980), Neato's lasers have helped its devices wisely navigate your floors since they debuted in 2010. Now with the BotVac Connected ($700), Neato also has a robot vacuum that's controlled by a mobile app. But while it does a decent job of cleaning floors, I found it to be much more trouble than Roomba's latest entry.
Roomba 980 review: iRobot's best vacuum yet, but too pricey for most
It's 2015 and I'm still waiting for Rosie the Robot, or some sort of equivalent home bot, to clean my home. We're probably years away from a Jetsons-like future, but it's easy to forget that iRobot's Roomba has already been around for over 13 years now, steadily getting better at doing your dirty work. Now with the new Roomba 980, iRobot is making its vacuum-cleaning bot smarter than ever before -- so much so that it's calling the 980 the most important Roomba since it first debuted in 2002. It has a camera and advanced localization technology that allows it to see obstacles and map your floors, and for the first time, it's also wirelessly connected and works together with a mobile app. Most importantly, it finally rid my carpets of cat hair. The 980 is the best Roomba yet, plain and simple. Unfortunately, its high cost of $900 puts it out of reach for most people.
Creator of the Roomba robotic cleaner is making a drone
Over the next few years, the market for consumer-facing drones is going to continue growing. And, as they say, the more the merrier. Enter CyPhy LVL 1, a sleek drone brought to you by the co-designer of the Roomba, iRobot's renowned robotic vacuum cleaner, Helen Greiner. She's now the CEO of CyPhy Works, which is a company that focuses on creating aerial robots -- albeit not for hobbyists. But that's about to change soon with its CyPhy LVL 1. Launched via Kickstarter, it is said to be the first drone for everyone, from young kids to old people, featuring a smartphone-based, swipe-to-fly remote interface, instant sharing of captured footage to social networks and geo-fencing.
iRobot hasn't given up on developing Roomba's lawn mowing sibling
You know how long it's been since we first heard that iRobot's making a robotic lawn mower? Nine years. After almost a decade of wondering if we'll ever see Roomba's more outdoorsy sibling, iRobot's finally giving us a glimpse of how the device will work through an FCC filing. Other robot lawn mowers require you to prep your lawn by burying wires around the perimeter -- the machines will recognize those wires and won't venture beyond them. iRobot, however, plans to use a wireless beacon system that entails burying four to nine beacons to mark the edges of your lawn. Those beacons will calculate the robots' position within the property and transmit it to the machine.
iRobot's newest machine is made for student hackers
Many educational robots tend to be complex and expensive, or simple and cheap. Where's the middle ground for students who want to build sophisticated things, but don't want to pay a fortune just to get started? iRobot thinks it can reach that happy balance with its new Create 2 robot. It's effectively a Roomba 600 series vacuum turned into a hacker's paradise. Instead of the usual cleaning equipment, you'll find easily accessible, clearly marked spaces that practically beg for add-on hardware (like cameras and arms) and cosmetic modifications. It's the foundation for a robotics project rather than a fully accessorized (and therefore costly) machine, as CEO Colin Angle tells us. You will get many of the tools you need to get cracking, though, including a programming framework, example instructions and 3D printing files for extra parts. So long as you can write code and plug in through USB, you can turn the robot into a Bluetooth-controlled DJ, a miniature security guard or whatever else your budget and skills allow.
Soldiers will soon steer iRobot's machines with an Android tablet
While iRobot's most famous for creating the Roomba, the robotic vacuum is far from being its only product: the company actually supplies defense, reconnaissance and first response machines to authorities, as well. In an effort to make these robots a lot easier to control in high-stress environments, iRobot has developed the uPoint Multi-Robot Control (MRC) system, which lets human operators navigate their machines using only an Android tablet. At the moment, these robots (all 6,000 of them deployed worldwide) are controlled using an old-school joystick and a separate monitor powered by a Linux-based OS. When uPoint launches, all the soldier/cop handlers need to do is fire up the app and steer their machines by tapping on the screen, effectively nixing the need to train them on the procedure for a few days.
Gadget Rewind 2004: iRobot Roomba Discovery
Little robot helpers found a place in our hearts and homes in 2002 when iRobot introduced the Roomba. This house-cleaning 'bot definitely made for an odd addition to the company's existing lineup of space exploration, minesweeping and tactical support devices. But beyond the novelty factor, the first Roomba model wasn't an immediate success for the company. After heading back to the drawing board, iRobot released a vastly improved model in 2004 called the Roomba Discovery. It had enhanced cleaning powers, longer battery life and was significantly smarter. The Discovery may not have been a true replacement to traditional vacuuming, but it definitely justified its cost and earned a solid customer base. It was also affordable, costing only a couple hundred dollars compared to competitor products like the 2004 Electrolux Trilobite, which shot well past the $1,000 mark.
IRL: iRobot Roomba 700
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. We're not sure how long it takes for someone to become an honorary Tokyoite, but whatever the answer, it's clear Mat Smith is still fairly green. After two years as an Engadget editor based in London, Mat moved to Japan last summer to run our coverage there. And run it he does. But can he call himself a transplant? Probably not yet. But adopting a robot was a good first step.
Roomba drops the bristles for 880 model (hands-on)
There is, I'm told, a revolution happening on the floor beneath my feet. I've got to admit, I wasn't anticipating how loud such a thing would be -- though revolutions are rarely quiet, and besides, I never let on that my new apartment is pretty much wall-to-wall hardwood floors. Next time we'll just attach a speaker to the thing to make the most out of the noise. The aforementioned "revolution" that iRobot references in its press materials is the abandonment of bristle brushes, those mainstays of robotic and non-robotic vacuums alike. In their place is the AeroForce system (one word in the press materials and two, strangely, on the device itself, a fault we're told of our device's early demo status), featuring Extractors, two rubbery rollers covered with a series of dashes. The idea here a pretty simple -- the solid masses don't get tangled nearly as easily as the old bristle brush system. Behind this is amplified suction, which, well, promises to suck more than on past models. The Extractors themselves have a fair amount of give to allow objects past. The Roomba picked up a stray penny or too, no problem. As promised, the rollers didn't get too tangled with hair. After a quick trip around my Queens apartment, there was a stray strand wrapped around one, but thankfully it's much more easily removed than with the bristles. And while a scrap of paper managed to work its way around an Extractor, the units can be easily pulled off the Roomba for cleaning and maintenance.
iRobot gives Mint mopping 'bot a new lease on life as the Braava
Wondering what would become of the plucky Mint 'bot after iRobot swept up its creator, Evolution Robotics? The company clearly thought it was time for a name change -- it's the iRobot Braava from here on out. The cleaner has inherited its older sibling's good looks, from the square build to the little diamond up top. Like the Mint, the Braava line pushes a cloth around your floor to pick up dirt instead of relying upon suction. It's got two modes: dry or damp, and in both cases is designed for a light cleaning in one go, rather than the Roomba or Scooba's multi-pass technique. There are two models, the 320 and the higher end 380t, which features some nice amenities like a faster charging battery and liquid dispensing. The Braavas are available now, starting at $199 at the source link below.
iRobot buys rival Evolution Robotics for $74 million to expand hard-floor cleaning tech
iRobot celebrated Roomba's 10th birthday quietly teeing up a $74 million acquisition of rival Evolution Robotics Inc. The Pasadena-based company produces the Mint, a hard-floor 'bot that uses ordinary Swiffer pads to wet-wipe your wooden decks clean -- and comes with the more sophisticated "Northstar" GPS-style positioning tech. As part of the deal, Evolution CEO Paolo Pirjanian will become iRobot's new CTO and the Mint and Mint Plus will be folded into the company's stable of Roomba cleaners -- with the deal expected to be fully approved by the fourth quarter of the year.
