The New Genius Behind Your Roomba

Robots are one of the most unique kind of consumer products to ever come to market. Why? Because it is not enough for them to be automatic like a dish washer or washing machine. It is not enough for them to be time savers, like the upright vacuum cleaner or lawn mower. We don’t expect them to entertain us like a television or connect us like a laptop or smart phone.

We expect robots to be intelligent. To listen to us when we ask them to do something, and understand what we meant. We give them names. We ascribe personalities to them. We want them to be more than tools; we want them to be a partner or at least a helper in getting through our increasingly complicated world. This is a particularly salient point with people spending more time at home, working and caring for their families, finding less time to clean. Gone are the days when people merely looked to robots to help them clean. Now, they are looking for robots to clean intelligently for them – on their terms.

These expectations have created the biggest and most unique challenge the world of consumer products has ever seen. Of course, this challenge also presents one of the biggest opportunities.

As I explained in my keynote at last year’s Amazon Re:Mars conference, and again wrote about here on my LinkedIn blog, autonomy is merely a baseline for robots. It’s the cost of entry for robot makers. In order for the industry to truly move forward, robots must also be intelligent and collaborative. 

What do I mean by intelligent and collaborative? Well, for starters, robots should be able to understand specific instructions and adjust their behavior accordingly. They should also get smarter over time. For example, a Roomba should learn what cleaning schedules work best for its owner. Or learn what pitfalls may exist in a home and how best to avoid them. And, essential to collaboration, robots should be able to have a meaningful, two-way dialogue with an owner, like suggesting helpful cleaning schedules based on cleaning history. Or suggesting cleaning specific areas of the home that may see more frequent messes, like in front of the couch or under the dining room table.

For 30 years, iRobot has pursued the challenge of building the kind of practical robots we’ve been promised since childhood. Today, with the help of so many iRoboteers across the globe, I am proud to say that we are indeed moving the robotics industry forward with the launch of iRobot Genius? Home Intelligence – a powerful new intelligence system that enables our consumer robots to become truly collaborative and intelligent cleaning partners.

The iRobot Genius? platform combined with a beautifully redesigned Home App unlock an expansive range of digital features and personalized cleaning experiences for our customers, designed to give them greater control over when, where and how their robots clean.

We are accounting for a new level of personalization based on their unique homes, schedules, and cleaning preferences. In short, we’re providing them with a true cleaning partner that fits seamlessly into their lives.

Using machine learning to automatically detect and proactively suggest Clean Zones around specific objects like couches or dining tables, our customers are better enabled to clean WHERE they need it – in areas that attract the most common messes. They can even do so using their voice. “Roomba, clean in front of the couch.” And it’s done.

With event-based automations, recommended cleaning schedules, and favorites, our customers can now more easily clean WHEN they need to. Imagine Roomba and Braava going to work automatically when you leave the house – or setting Roomba and Braava off to clean “after dinner.” Well, imagine no more. This is now possible.

And with better software and increased intelligence, our robots are able to more effectively let customers clean HOW they want to by recommending Keep Out Zones and suggesting times when they may need more frequent cleaning – like pet-shedding or allergy seasons.

The most exciting part is that this is just the beginning. With iRobot Genius and the new Home App, we are unlocking the full potential of our connected products, not only giving them the ability to do more now, but also the ability to get smarter over time. You can expect even greater things to come in the future, as iRobot continues to develop new software and digital experiences.

Colin - @colinangle