Credit: Unsplash
It’s already bad enough when your dog does his business in just one part of the house.
Roombas are a very handy little gizmo for folks with busy lifestyles. They’re smart enough to get most of the nooks and crannies of your floor, and can do so without your constant input. However, there have been horror stories over the years of Roomba users who also own pets that may not be 100% caught up on their house training. While Roombas can avoid solid objects, softer objects like… “presents,” let’s call them, don’t register. As such, when the Roomba’s spinning brushes roll over it, instead of sucking it up, it just… distributes it to the rest of the house.
iRobot is aware of these horror stories, which is why they’ve souped up the newest iteration of Roomba, the j7+, with the Genius 3.0 obstacle detection system. In addition to all of the usual hard obstacles that would otherwise obstruct a Roomba’s movement, it will also now detect and avoid pet waste. If it ever detects a “present” from your dog or cat, the j7+ will make sure to steer clear of it. But even AI isn’t infallible, which is why the j7+ is backed by a “Pet Owner Official Promise,” or P.O.O.P. In the event that your j7+ Roomba runs over solid pet waste in spite of the detection system, iRobot will replace it with a brand new j7+ free of charge.
iRobot's latest Roomba can detect pet poop (and if it fails, you'll get a new one) https://t.co/hGxezxDMhN pic.twitter.com/FasFsU0HTD
— Engadget (@engadget) September 9, 2021
In addition to the pet waste problem, the j7+’s AI now has a better grasp of things like power cords, socks, children’s toys, and other frequent floor-dwellers. If it detects an obstacle it doesn’t recognize, it’ll send a message to your Roomba smartphone app asking what it should do. You can also use the app to designate no-zones that you want the j7+ to stay away from, such as tight spots it could potentially get stuck in.
