Robotic vacuum cleaners continue to get smarter as companies work to develop and implement more sophisticated AI capabilities. iRobot last week released the Roomba j7+ Robot Vacuum with Genius 3.0 Home Intelligence. Equipped with a series of cameras that allows it to analyze harder-to-discern obstacles in real time, the iRobot Roomba j7+ Robot Vacuum is designed to allow the consumer to never again pick up a vacuum.
“We understand home environments and lifestyles are unique and that it’s important to offer intelligent, simple-to-use products that more thoughtfully work within the boundaries of house rules set by the user,” said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot, in the company’s press release. “The Roomba j7+ with iRobot Genius provides greater levels of personalization, new home automation, and the ability to get smarter over time, allowing the robot to deliver a more intuitive cleaning experience so people have more time to do what’s most important to them.”
The Roomba j7 is the first fully electronic vacuum cleaner designed by iRobot to feature PrecisionVision Navigation, which allows the device to learn how to best navigate your floors, remembering specific rooms and certain furniture, to understand where cleaning is needed most. Moreover, the Roomba j7+ independently recognizes and navigates around obstacles such as cords and pet waste all on its own, which are notoriously hard for robotic vacuums to avoid. This degree of object recognition is an improvement on older generations where robot vacuums would still get stuck on cords.
The smart device also learns and maps the floorplan of your house by navigating in neat efficient rows. Combining this feature with the Roomba j7’s voice control compatibility allows the user to efficiently instruct the Roomba j7 to clean up messes by giving a voice command such as “Roomba clean the living room.” The device can also be controlled via a mobile app, and is extremely hands-off for the user, as it can self-empty up to 60 days worth of dirt, dust, and dander. The three-stage cleaning system features multi-surface dual rubber brushes, which avoid pet hair tangles and provide 10x the suctioning power of the Roomba 600 series.
However, what makes the Roomba j7+ a truly smart device is the addition of the iRobot Genius 3.0 Home intelligence AI system, which communicates with the Roomba j7+ to take the device to new heights of convenience. iRobot says it is focused on designing its devices to work around the schedule of the consumer. To that end, it implemented the ‘Clean While I’m Away’ feature, which uses location awareness on your mobile phone to automatically begin cleaning once you are, say, a mile from your home. The iRobot Genius 3.0 Home Intelligence system also allows the device to give live estimates of how long it will take to clean your house or apartment. There’s also a smart mapping feature that suggests labels for each room in your home, making voice and other smart commands, as well as keeping track of the device, even easier. Other small but ingenious features include commands such as “keep it down,” which activates a silent mode–essentially the vacuum function turns off–until the j7+ reaches the requested cleaning space.
This new piece of smart technology is perfect for those who have busy lives but still prioritize the need for cleanliness. Instead of cleaning when you get home from work, the Roomba j7+ has already vacuumed the house or apartment while you were out, allowing you to focus on cooking and relaxing. The Roomba j7+ is also ideal for apartments where the device does not need to navigate stairs, as it is unable to do this.
The iRobot Roomba j7+ robot vacuum with Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal is currently available for pre-order from www.irobot.com for $849, and will be available at select retailers on September 19th, 2021.
