The Roomba j7 Plus, released this year. | Image: iRobot
iRobot has released a holiday-themed update for its latest robot vacuum cleaners to help them handle the cleaning demands of Christmas trees. The j7 and j7 Plus robovacs can also now identify and avoid shoes and socks.
The festive trees, shoes, and socks feature builds upon iRobot’s latest navigation and control software, which first released in August last year. This software uses machine vision to identify furniture and specify “clean zones.” For example, you might have a dining table you want a Roomba to specifically clean under after chaotic family meals. There are also “keep out zones” which a Roomba might suggest avoiding, like the area under a TV stand filled with cables for it to get caught on.
