How iRobot used data science, cloud, and DevOps to design its next-gen smart home robots

Watching iRobot’s new vacuum tag-team with the company’s latest robot mop to clean a room is to glimpse a Jetsons-like orchestration of the home of the future.

Seeing the two working together shows how smart home robots are starting to talk to each other, in this case through a technology called Imprint Link, and coordinate to be more effective without needing human involvement. But these two new bots, and the ones that will follow them, also represent the evolution of iRobot’s approach to software, data science, and design. Certainly, the Roomba S9 (the vacuum) and Braava Jet M6 (the mop) represent a breakthrough. Using Qualcomm processors, smartphone-level processing, more memory, and Imprint Link, the two robots work together. When Roomba gets back from a vacuum job, it lets the Braava know when to start. The two robots share maps of the home, and you can command them to tackle jobs and prioritize via iRobot’s app.   Here’s where you’d expect me to hit you with specifications and features like Roomba’s new rubber brush with fletches to pick up larger debris, advanced 3D sensors, and for the S9 price of $999 and S9+ price of $1,299, the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal — a system that empties the robot and puts dust and debris into a bin. I might as well also mention the Braava Jet M6 price of $499, and that you can buy the Clean Base separately for $349. But the far more interesting tale revolves around how iRobot, which is almost 30 years old and has sold more than 25 million robots, found a new focus and leveraged data science to become a significant player helping to decide how the smart home will operate. If you’re going to promise consumers that they won’t have to touch their Roombas or worry about vacuuming for months at a time, there’s a lot of backend IT and architecture work, data science, and cloud computing behind the scenes. This data-driven and DevOps approach may just set up iRobot as a key smart home leader that can ride emerging trends such as aging in place.

For iRobot CEO Colin Angle, the launch of these new robots is the first product cycle that represents iRobot 2.0. That includes a new design language, a common software platform and the plan that the company will move beyond its core home vacuum and mopping systems: iRobot is launching the Terra robot lawn mower in beta in the US and commercially in Germany. “These robots are the beginning of a new business phase for iRobot. From the design language, to spatial understanding as a foundation, what we are doing at the company is moving from ‘hey buy this robot’ to ‘hey enjoy this service,'” says Angle.

The core item in the new design language is the circle in the middle of the robots. The circle represents the history of iRobot, which featured a bevy of round Roomba robots. “The circle is a nod back to the round robots and gives us the ability to be more expansive with geometries,” he explains. But iRobot 2.0 also represents the maturation of iRobot. “Innovation at iRobot started back in the early days with a toolkit of robot technology. Innovation was really about market exploration and finding different ways for the toolkit to create value,” Angle says. Through that lens, iRobot explored everything from robots for space exploration to toys to industrial cleaning and medical uses. “Our first 10 to 15 years of history is fraught with market exploration,” Angle says. Ultimately, iRobot, founded in 1990, narrowed its focus to defense, commercial and consumer markets before focusing solely on home robots. iRobot divested its commercial and its military robot division, which was ultimately acquired by FLIR for $385 million.

Here’s a brief history: – 1998: iRobot developed military robots under a DARPA research contract. – 2001: iRobot’s PackBot military robot searches at World Trade Center after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. – 2002: Roomba launched. – 2005: iRobot went public.