iRobot the robotic vacuum cleaner company are upping the game with their new high end home cleaning robots.
They are bringing Amazon Alexa integration to its high-end vacuuming robots with a hefty dose of analytics via an app update that will provide post-cleaning maps as well as total space cleaned.
iRobot's app for its Roomba 900 Series vacuuming robots is akin to MyFitnessPal for cleaning;
Amazon's Alexa is increasingly becoming a home operating system;
The smart home is being mapped to add a new level of localization.
iRobot's Roomba 900 Series build maps via navigation tools and visual localization. These maps are then delivered via a Clean Map in the iRobot Home App. Data such as total area and duration for up to 30 cleaning jobs is supported. A patented technology called Leveraging Dirt Detect provides data on debris and focused cleaning areas.
As for Alexa, iRobot said a skill for Roomba vacuuming robots will be added in the second quarter.
Add it up and the updates to iRobot's Roomba 900 Series are a step to what CEO Colin Angle said is a "vision of an ecosystem of home robots that work collaboratively and further enable the smart home."
http://www.zdnet.com/article/irobot-adds-alexa-integration-analytics-to-smart-home/