Amazon has bought the company that makes Roombas – robotic vacuum cleaners.
iRobot has been bought by Amazon at 1.7 billion dollars. The deal is pending approval from regulators and shareholders, but it is expected to go through, especially as the shares of iRobot rose by 20% after the announcement.
About Roomba
Roomba, released in 2002, was the first commercially successful robotic vacuum cleaner.
A robotic vacuum cleaner goes around the house and vacuums on its own. When it encounters something like a wall or a table, it goes around it. It has sensors to help it understand that there is an obstacle ahead. It also has sensors that prevent it from falling off stairs, etc.
Roomba is one of the most successful and well known robotic vacuum cleaners in the market.
Roomba works by mapping the house. This data is stored on the company’s servers, so the device knows the exact layout of the house and is able to clean the house regularly.
The vacuum cleaner can be operated from anywhere in the world using an app. This puts the data on the web.
About Amazon devices
Amazon has its own robotic vacuum cleaner, but the Roomba has truly understood the market in the last 20 years and is the clear category leader.