There are plenty of robots that say they can vacuum and mop your floors, but never to anyone’s satisfaction. With some, you have to futz with the system to add the mop halfway through, others it’ll drag the dirty pad across your clean carpets and rugs. It’s a problem that iRobotThe new Combo J7+ was the result of a lot of engineering effort. Co-founder and CEO Colin Angle describes it as the “first legitimate 2-in-1 vacuuming and mopping robot ever created.”
Instead of asking users to make adjustments mid-mission, the j7+ comes with a standard vacuum head. When it’s finished, however, a pair of recessed arms pull down a mop pad that’s housed in the top of the chassis down to the floor. From there, it’ll drag the pad along your hard floors, before pushing it back away if and when it has to cross carpet. It takes up to 60 days for the user to change the bag or refill the water.
iRobot
Angle and iRobot’s product manager Praj Shyamkant said that the plan was to ensure that the mop would never, ever, come into contact with your soft surfaces. The device would be able to perform the tasks it was described as without micromanagement. The unit is the same size as the Standard (poop-detecting) j7It required engineering expertise to fit all the fancy gear inside its body.
iRobot also wanted to showcase its new iRobot OS 5.0 operating system. It includes improved integration with Alexa and Siri home assistants, and the ability denote clean zones to increase attention and hazard avoidance. You can also amend mission plans on the fly, banishing your Roomba from a room where you’re about to take a Zoom call, for instance. iRobot also wanted to affirm its pledge to protect user data, never to sell it on to third parties, and that it’s secured a TÜV SÜD Cyber Security certification for its data hygiene.
Pre-order the Roomba Combo J7+ today. It will be $1,099 in America. Shipments are expected to start October 4th. It’ll be available in the UK for £999, but you can also pick up a version without the Clean Base for £799, while other countries can expect it to appear through the rest of Q4, 2022.
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