iRobot is taking steps to provide new functions to its popular Roomba. In the beginning, these robots were limited to going through the rooms on a recurring basis to vacuum up the dirt. With its latest model so far, the Combo j7, the company took a step forward by combining a vacuum cleaner and a floor scrubber in the same space. The new j9 follows the line and goes a little further, when it detects a particularly dirty area of the floor, it rubs over it. her with several passes to eliminate it by the combined effect of her rubber rollers and her wet mop.
As in the Roomba j7, the new j9 has an ingenious mechanism that makes part of its cover a visor that hides the mop used for scrubbing and which is placed on the floor or raised and stored like a kind of convertible. using two metal arms, depending on whether the device is on a firm floor or on a carpet. For hygienic reasons, separating the wet mop from the carpet is very important.
The Roomba Combo j9 has that retractable mop and an intelligent rubbing system. A program called Dirt detective, which in addition to prioritizing cleaning in each room of the house as necessary, warns if there is a stain on the floor and is applied so that the robot passes over and over again to try to eliminate it. . Like the previous generation, the new iRobot floor-mopping vacuum cleaner has a water tank to humidify the mop, but it is not necessary to fill it practically with each mop, as is the case with its predecessor.
iRobot has designed a new charging base with a design that allows it to be installed in a living room, with a wooden top, so it can be used as a small side table. This base contains a water tank to charge the j9 as you need it, approximately for 30 days, in addition to the automatic emptying bag (which is changed every two months) and space to store spare bags and clean mops.
The cleaning robot company also launches two models that can vacuum or mop, not both at the same time like the j7 and j9. These are the Roomba j5 and the Roomba i5. In both cases, the vacuuming or mopping function is achieved just by changing the tank. The mopping one includes a water tank and mop and the vacuuming one includes a dust and dirt collection area. Both have a charging base with automatic emptying and the big difference between the two is that the i5 does not have automatic object recognition, an iRobot system that allows it to detect and avoid up to 80 different objects on the ground, from pet droppings, to cables, toys or clothing such as socks.
The price of the Roomba Combo j9 will be 1,399 euros. The version without base, 999 euros. The Roomba Combo j5 will cost 899 euros and the Combo i5 699 euros. iRobot ensures that all vacuum cleaner models of its brand will receive updates so that, if any of the new features are possible, they will also work on older models.
Colin Angle, CEO of iRobot, highlighted last week in Madrid that Spain continues to be the leading country in the world in penetration of cleaning robots, with 18% of homes, only closely followed by the United States. “It's an important market,” he said. The manager pointed out that “software is becoming increasingly important” in this sector, so his app creates a map of the home, created through triangulation of points in height, which allows him to trace the exact shape of the rooms even if the robot Have furniture in front of you that hides the walls.
