Amazon.com is continuing its push into internet-connected home devices and robotics. Picture: BLOOMBERG
“I’m excited to work with the iRobot team to invent in ways that make customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable,” said Dave Limp, senior vice-president of Amazon Devices. IRobot gives Amazon a household-name in home cleaning gadgets that may give it a leg up over its own designs. Last autumn Amazon debuted a household robot named Astro that was supposed to usher in, or at least point to, a Jetsons-like future. Called the Astro, the three-wheeled device would eventually sell for about $1,450. But Astro, still in a limited rollout, hasn’t made a splash with consumers.
IRobot said its Roomba vacuum and Braava floor mops “can map the floor of a home, sense changes in the floor type being cleaned, spot clean, avoid objects and cliffs , and intelligently approach a base station to recharge, among other innovative features”.