Robot Roomba Vacuum Received An Important Holiday Update
The Roomba got an awesome update just in time for the holidays.
This article is more than 2 years old
The iRobot Roomba is one of the best types of robot vacuums and one of the most convenient household gadgets that money can buy. The Roomba vacuum, initially released in 2002, has been only getting better and more capable as time goes on. Just last August iRobot integrated updated navigational control software in order for users to customize their cleaning routes to an even greater degree. In light of the holiday season, iRobot just rolled out another important update that is sure to serve many a household well, and right in the nick of time.
According to The Verge, Roomba owners can now program their vacuums to clean around their Christmas trees. The update, per the iRobot website, went live on November 29, 2021, and can be installed on both the j7 and j7 Plus models. This update is particularly useful for those who like to set up a real tree to celebrate the Christmas season. For anyone who’s ever had a real tree, then they well know the real trees shed their needles at a rapid rate. Daily vacuuming around the bottom of the tree is not just advisable, it’s necessary. The brilliant minds at iRobot certainly had the live tree lovers in mind when developing this update.
With the update, Roomba owners will be able to program their individual vacuums to cover the radius under the tree that best suits their household. Additionally, with the new software, they will also be able to highlight a “keep out” zone. So for instance, a Roomba owner can program their robot to circle the tree while labeling the center as off-limits. This way, all the needles will be thoroughly cleaned up with the added peace of mind that the Roomba won’t accidentally bump into the center of the tree and knock it over. The potential of a tree falling over by itself is enough to worry about, after all.
In addition to the convenient Christmas tree feature, the update also includes a smart-mapping capability that will come in particular handy for Roomba owners who have more than one. With the smart-mapping feature, specific routes can be planned out for each Roomba so that everything gets cleaned just once and it also eliminates the risk of the Roombas bumping into each other. The smart-mapping feature is also useful for a single Roomba when a user just wants to clean a particular area instead of an entire space.
A previous update that now comes preinstalled on Roomba models includes the capability for the Roomba to avoid objects that in the past it wouldn’t notice, such as shoes, socks, and even dog poop. Unfortunately, many a Roomba has fought a good fight upon encountering dog poop and let’s just say the dog poop always won. However, thankfully, the aforementioned update has broken the dog poop’s undefeated streak. All in all, the combination of Roomba’s latest holiday update, as well as their previously added software, both serve to show why the Roomba is a worthy addition to any home’s digital arsenal.
