Over the past two years we have seen the proliferation of 2-in-1 robot vacuum cleanerproducts that not only suck up dust but, at the same time, can wash the floor.
The shapes change, the methods change, the technology behind this functionality changes but one element has always remained unchanged: to wash any surface you need a cloth. And the cloth has always – predictably – placed on the bottom of the device. Sometimes it can be removed, sometimes not, but the substance is always the same
iRobot tries to change the cards on the table with iRobot Roomba Combo j7+.
iRobot Roomba Combo j7 +: now the cloth is raised
There are two elements that distinguish the iRobot Roomba Combo j7 + from other similar products.
The first is the software.
Roomba Combo j7 + first takes care of vacuuming rugs and carpets and then vacuuming and scrubbing hard floors, thus saving some time. All this of course by relying on sensors that are able to recognize the type of surface. And no, it is not a job that is done at the first mapping. Monitoring is constant so if you change something inside your home, the robot vacuum cleaner notices it.
The second element is mechanical. The wash cloth is literally lifted and placed on top of the Roomba Combo j7 + when it identifies surfaces that should not be washed.
The system is obviously designed to last over time, with metal arms designed to resist the continuous lowering and lifting of the cloth.
Helping iRobot Roomba Combo j7 + is also the PrecisionVision navigation system, which is now able to recognize over 80 commonly used objectssuch as litter boxes, bowls, dishwashers, clothes, backpacks and more.
What is all this for? On the one hand ad avoid elements placed on the floor randomly. Think, for example, of your dog’s toys or slippers abandoned next to the bed. On the other hand, you can count on voice commands more and more precise, taking advantage of the integration with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
But this is just one of the news coming with iRobot OS 5.0, the new version of the operating system dedicated to robot vacuum cleaners of the American company.
In fact, the update will allow you to skip cleaning in a room simply by pressing a button or asking Alexa to avoid that specific area. All this while the robot is already running.
What is it for? Well, think of the little domestic accidents of every day. Or, again, imagine you have an important web call and don’t want to be disturbed.
Finally there are coming new commands also for Siri. Finally, you can ask Apple’s voice assistant to clean a room or say “Hey Siri, clean up after dinner”.
Privacy at the heart of it all
During the presentation of iRobot Roomba Combo j7 + in which we took part Colin Agle, CEO of the company, wanted to underline the importance of security and privacy. A particularly hot topic given Amazon’s recent acquisition of iRobot.
Agle wanted to specify that all collected data are carefully protected, at any stage and wherever they are, whether it is the robot, the app or the cloud.
iRobot continues to adhere to the highest standards in terms of data protection, with customers being free to change their privacy settings at any time.
iRobot Roomba Roomba Combo j7 +: price and availability
iRobot Roomba Roomba Combo j7 + will arrive in Europe on October 4th in two versions:
- at € 999 with self-emptying base
- at € 799 without self-emptying base
The update to iRobot OS 5.0 has already started.