iRobot brings Siri commands to some Roomba models

‘Hey Siri, clean my room’

iRobot has updated its Roomba software with Genius 4.0 Home Intelligence, bringing Siri support, smart mapping and clothing and towel detection to Roomba smart vacuums.

Hey Siri can you clean my room?

The latest software update is being made available to Wi-Fi connected Roomba robot vacuum and Braava jet robot mop customers.  The update introduces new functionality such as smart mapping, Siri Shortcut Integration, Child & Pet Lock, and Do Not Disturb.

The company also announced that the Roomba i3 and i3+ will be sold as the Roomba i3 EVO and Roomba i3+ EVO robot vacuums at a lower price in the Americas moving forward.

Siri support and smarter mapping

The robots already support around 600 Alexa and Google Assistant shortcuts in the iRobot Home app and this has been extended to iOS.

It means owners of Wi-Fi connected Roomba robot vacuums and Braava jet robot mops who use an iOS device can connect their robot to Siri in the iRobot Home App. Want to vacuum your whole home? Set up your own custom phrase, and just say “Hey Siri, ask Roomba to clean everywhere.”

With Imprint Smart Mapping, customers can now create customizable Smart Maps for their Roomba i3 and i3+ robot vacuums, enabling them to send their robot to clean specific rooms via the iRobot Home app or through their preferred voice assistant.

They can also now receive estimated cleaning times and create cleaning routines based on their preferred schedules, rooms and automations.

With the iRobot Genius 4.0 update and Imprint Smart Mapping, customers can now create customizable Smart Maps for their Roomba i3 and i3+ robot vacuums, enabling them to send their robot to clean specific rooms via the iRobot Home app or through their preferred voice assistant.

[Also read: How Apple can put Apple Silicon in every smart home’s heart]

Additional features include child & pet lock to prevent accidental use and a new do not disturb option which lets users set times during which the robot should not run.

Robots that get smarter over time

“The beauty of iRobot Genius is that our robots get smarter over time and continuously provide customers with new ways to clean where, when and how they want,” said Keith Hartsfield, chief product officer at iRobot.

“As iRobot develops new features and experiences, the updates are pushed out to customers’ robots at no cost. From the day a customer welcomes a Roomba robot vacuum or Braava jet robot mop into their home, they know that they’ll always benefit from new features and functionality.

They are also getting a robot that works harder for them, so they don’t have to. With more than 60 million personalized recommendations provided to customers to date, our robots are proven to learn, respect and work around individual schedules and needs.”

All iRobot Genius 4.0 software updates will be rolling out globally to Wi-Fi connected Roomba and Braava jet customers through the end of June 2022 with the exception of Do Not Disturb, which is now available globally, and Imprint Smart Mapping for Roomba i3 and i3+, which is now available for customers in the Americas and APAC regions – and expected to be available for customers in EMEA by the end of Q3 2022.

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