Introducing the smartest rumba in history What is the "Rumba j7" series that becomes like a "partner"?

Home appliances that enrich people's lives are indispensable to their lifestyle. In addition to those with excellent functionality and design, technologies such as AI and IoT have recently developed, and so-called "high-tech home appliances" have emerged. [Video] Roomba that identifies obstacles and cleans them smoothly. Especially in Korona-ka, there is an increasing need for time saving and labor saving in order to make effective use of time. Under such circumstances, the iRobot "Roomba" is a representative robot vacuum cleaner that automatically cleans the room. Since the launch of the first Roomba in 2002, it has been a market-leading product and is known as a robot vacuum cleaner that boasts an overwhelming market share both in Japan and overseas. Roomba, which has swept such a market, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. On February 2nd, a presentation was held to unveil the new series of Roomba, explaining the features of the new robot vacuum cleaner "Roomba j7" series and the cleaning experience that Roomba is aiming for. At the beginning, Colin Angle, CEO and co-founder of iRobot Corporation, took the stage online from his home near Boston, USA. He gave a presentation on the outline and features of the new product. "Rumba j7 +" and "Rumba j7" are "finished products with the highest intelligence and design in the history of iRobot," says Colin. In addition, it is said to be the most time-consuming product of all past products for the R & D team. The Roomba i7, launched in 2019, was able to record the floor plan of a house and specify which room to clean and when. In addition, we have been trying to improve the cleaning experience by introducing the water-wiping robot vacuum cleaner "Brava He is Jet m6", which has a function of linking with Roomba (Imprint Link), to the Japanese market. In 2020, we announced the "Rumba s9" series, which is characterized by its power called "Beast". In the summer of the same year, the software update "iRobot Genius Home Intelligence" was launched, pursuing a personalized cleaning experience that suits the user's lifestyle. And, in the "Rumba j7" series announced this time, Colin said, "It's just an amazing robot." "In the" Roomba j7 "series, the robot itself learns and continues to learn the lifestyle and cleaning patterns of each household. The latest version of the software" iRobot Genius3.0 "makes this possible. It has become possible to propose cleaning methods and functions that are close to the user's lifestyle. In that sense, the "Roomba j7" series is a practical robot equipped with technology and functions that can be a "partner" for users. It can be said that there is. Furthermore, because the cumulative sales volume in the world has exceeded 40 million units, various opinions and feedback are gathered from users all over the world and data is accumulated, so to speak, " One of our major strengths is that we can evolve as a "user-participation type AI robot". " Always learning and evolving> The next speaker was Hiroshi Yamauchi, his senior manager of Product Marketing & Strategy. He explained that the technology installed in the "Roomba j7" series "takes the cleaning experience to another dimension." "We are always keeping in mind what our customers are looking for. In such a situation, when using a robot vacuum cleaner, it does not work well in an environment with a lot of things on the floor, or the code is put together in advance. We received the opinion that "preparation is difficult". Therefore, this "Roomba j7" series is a model that thoroughly pursues not only cleaning efficiency but also cleaning method. "" Roomba The most distinctive feature of the j7 series is PrecisionVision navigation. By mounting a camera on the front of the robot, which is the first for Roomba, "it has become possible to grasp the field of view in front of us in real time," says Yamauchi. As a result, obstacles can be identified and avoided during cleaning, and cleaning can be continued without stopping. It is said that cables and cords, pet excrement, socks, slippers, etc. can be identified as obstacles, but since users all over the world give feedback to the cloud managed by iRobot, that too As the database is updated, the number of objects that detect objects as obstacles will continue to increase. "The constant update based on the feedback of users from all over the world means that it starts after purchasing. It can be called a user-participation AI robot that learns and evolves from there. That's why it can be said that it is the smartest product in the history of Roomba. " On the design side, product marketing specialist Kaori Fujita explained. During development, the theme was "a robot that blends into the interior," and the design was sublimated into a stylish and industrial design. "It is not just a household appliance, but a design that focuses on details such as texture and materials. By eliminating unnecessary parts and joints and using only one button, it is reminiscent of a flat and sophisticated image. In addition, the clean base (garbage collector) has been redesigned to be the first horizontally long type of Roomba, and it is noteworthy that there is no problem with storage. "Finally, Mr. Takeshi Yamada, Executive Officer, General Manager of Marketing Headquarters Spoke and talk about the evolution of software. "IRobot Genius 3.0 is an operation system designed to make Roomba the best partner. Until now, users had to manually set proposals for prohibited areas, but the" Roomba j7 "series. Has evolved into an operation system that proposes from robots. Users' lifestyles and lifestyle patterns, such as proposals for specifying partial cleaning areas for places such as sofas and kitchen areas, and the ability to start cleaning immediately after going out, can be seen. It recognizes and enables an optimized cleaning experience. "The" Roomba j7 "series will be released sequentially from February 10th. In addition, you can try "Rumba j7 +" and "Rumba j7" with the subscription plan "Robot Smart Plan +", which is being developed ahead of the industry. Robot vacuum cleaners have evolved further and have become high-performance products that go beyond the boundaries of home appliances. I think we are one step closer to realizing the "smart home" that iRobot is aiming for.

Daisuke Furutashima