Robot vacuum cleaners have become fairly ubiquitous, with many people happily accepting the little cleaning robots’ faults in exchange for the ability to cross a time-consuming chore off of their to-do lists. Robot mops haven’t quite garnered the same following yet, however — and robot vacuum-mop combos? Let’s just say they often do more harm than good.
Up until now, devices that attempted to do both floor-cleaning tasks failed to do either very well, often unintelligently dragging a wet mop head across carpets and rugs, ultimately causing more of a mess in the process. They also took a lot of time to do their job, as vacuuming and mopping had to be performed in separate cycles, typically requiring human intervention in between.
Well, industry leader iRobot has produced a vacuum-mop combo that doesn’t suck (except in the way it’s supposed to) with what it’s calling the world’s most advanced 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop: the Roomba Combo j7+.
iRobotThe latest Roomba is the first robot vacuum cleaner and mop combo to offer a truly hands-free experience. Normally with such a gadget, it’s up to you to manually switch over between mopping and vacuuming modes. But the Combo j7+ features a mop head that automatically retracts when it senses a rug or carpet, autonomously lifting itself safely above the top of the robot to ensure that no wet residue makes its way onto your fabric flooring. This means the device is fully capable of doing all of your vacuuming and mopping in one simultaneous session, first vacuuming all rugs and then vacuuming and mopping your hard floors in one go. And when it’s done, the robot empties itself in the included Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal system.
iRobotAlongside the Combo j7+, iRobot is rolling out the latest version of its operating system in iRobot OS 5.0. The new OS, which also applies to several other robots in iRobot’s portfolio, is able to recognize more specific commands about where you’d like it to clean, and it’s able to recognize and avoid even more obstacles, like all types of pet messes and your kid’s backpack. All of the updates are designed to make iRobot’s devices smarter while providing a better and easier experience for the user.
