IRobot provides Roomba 980 with WiFi support

Home automation company iRobot is releasing a new version of its Roomba vacuum cleaner robot: the Roomba 980. The device can be connected via the wireless network at home and can also be controlled via a smartphone app. In addition, the robot makes a map of the room.

By being able to create a map using a camera, the vacuum cleaner can guide itself through a room more efficiently. Because the vacuum cleaner is connected via the internet, the makers have tried to make the robot as safe as possible. Ninety minutes after the end of the vacuum, the vacuum cleaner removes the video recordings from the room and the internal card.

A robot vacuum cleaner connected to the internet can of course also be controlled from other locations via the smartphone app. For example, it is possible to give the vacuum cleaner the cleaning command remotely, but also simply via a physical button on the robot. Then he uses the camera and some other sensors to keep moving in straight lines.

Still, the main reason for the smartphone app is not to manually turn the robot on or off, but to schedule tasks for the robot and keep track of other maintenance tasks. You can’t use the app as a remote control to drive the thing around like a remote-controlled car. The device should cost $900 in the US. A price in euros is not yet known.