Thanks to iRobot's Roomba and Braava automated cleaners, floor caring is effortless and can be initiated by telling Alexa or Google Assistant to vacuum or mop. The same privilege is coming to the outdoors with the Terra, iRobot's new autonomous lawnmower, which will make grass trimming as painstaking as speaking to a smart speaker or pressing a button.
Read MoreGet your own robot butler for as little as $150 in Best Buy's smart vacuum sale
Smart vacuums like iRobot's Roomba devices are a realization of our Jetsons-style aspirations for the future: they're mechanical servants that can clean our homes with little to no input from us. They can get up there, though, with super luxe models going for $1,000 or more — but Best Buy is running a sale where you can grab one for as low as $150.
Read MoreThe Roomba robot vacuum will soon begin mapping your house's WiFi coverage
iRobot's Roombas are already quite smart to begin with. They map out your house, figure out as best they can which areas they can reach and which areas are problematic, and the WiFi-connected models can be controlled remotely with an app or via Google Home or Alexa or IFTTT. A new capability is on their horizon: a WiFi coverage map of your house. So instead of you holding your phone with a WiFi signal detection app and walking around several times to the different nooks and crannies to figure out the weak or dead spots, Roomba will do it for you.
Read MoreNew IFTTT channels for Roomba, Somfy, Switchbot, and more
IFTTT is one of the best ways to connect your multiple smart services and appliances and make them work together. Sure, there are hubs and services that might offer to bridge the gaps between different IoT companies, but IFTTT really covers the entire gamut, and since it supports Google Assistant, that makes it easier to issue voice commands at your entire house.
Today's expansion of IFTTT brings us several new channels that can be connected to either your Google Assistant or your other devices. Here are the new channels:
- iRobot Roomba (connected vacuum): you can start, dock, pause, or stop the Roomba through IFTTT, or trigger something else when the vacuum finishes a mission.
iRobot's Roomba robot vacuum adds Clean Map reports and promises Alexa integration
I've been eying the iRobot Roombas for over a year now. The idea of a robot vacuum gliding around my apartment and cleaning up while I'm not around sounds all too appealing and nerdy. And because I'm into connected gadgets, I sure want one of the newer Series 900 robots, which would set me back somewhere between 7 and 9 Franklins. Ouch. If you're lucky enough to have that kind of dough to spend on a Roomba, your robot is about to get cooler in the geekiest kind of way: maps and stats. Oh and Alexa.
iRobot is announcing new Clean Map reports for your Roomba 900 series that will show you a map of your house and the spots that were cleaned, along with graphs for the total cleaning time and coverage over the last 30 jobs plus some lifetime stats.
Read MoreLatest Deals
-
0
39 temporarily free and 46 on-sale apps and games to start the week
-
11
[Update: B&H, too] Get a 64GB/4GB Moto G6 from Amazon for $200 ($120 off)
-
35
[Update: It's back] Samsung's Gear S3 Frontier is now $200 on Amazon
-
14
Bose QuietComfort 35 II noise-cancelling headphones with Assistant just $258 at Rakuten with coupon ($46 off)
-
5
Jabra Move on-ear Bluetooth headphones drop to just $40 (60% off)
-
0
Latest Poll
Loading ...Recent Reviews
-
22
Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 is the best solution for European-style locks
-
80
The Sony Xperia 10 is really long and really boring
-
106
The Nokia 9 PureView is a good phone ruined by serious problems
-
157
Galaxy S10e review: The best Android phone for the money - and for most people
-
22
My home never smelled nicer, but Moodo is still a luxury smart fragrance diffuser
-
22
Latest Roundups
-
1
22 best new Android games released this week including NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits, Golf Peaks, and R.B.I. Baseball 19
-
12
18 new and notable Android apps from the last two weeks including Daywise, Hidey Hole, and Dota Pro Circuit (3/9/19 - 3/23/19)
-
4
[Bonus Round] Golf Peaks, Yume Nikki, Shieldwall Chronicles: Swords of the North, R.B.I. Baseball 19, Adrestia - Magic Battles, and Emoji Mine
-
9
22 best new Android games released this week including Stardew Valley, Returner Zhero - Final Cut, and Where's Om Nom?
-
14
40 new and notable Wear OS apps and watch faces from the last 6 months (9/13/18 - 3/16/19)
-
1
Recent Apps and Games
-
5
Google Maps city, state, and country borders are back again on Android
-
0
39 temporarily free and 46 on-sale apps and games to start the week
-
0
Manage all your Android data from your computer with AnyTrans for Android [Sponsored Post]
-
4
Substratum Lite will offer essential theming features in a smaller package
-
5
Sony camera app renamed Imaging Edge Mobile, new Transfer & Tagging utility launched
-
5
Blast from the Past
-
145
1 Year Ago Today
Google is starting to block GApps on 'uncertified' devices, but you can register an exemption for ROMs
-
70
2 Years Ago Today
All the Android O features we've found so far [Continuously Updated]
-
22
3 Years Ago Today
Google's Nik Collection For Professional Photographers Is Now Free To Download On OS X And Windows
-
1806
4 Years Ago Today
[Update: Invites Open Again] WhatsApp Calling Goes Live For Everyone, Provided You Have A Recent App Version And Get "Invited" By Receiving A Call
-
66
5 Years Ago Today
LastPass Updated To Version 3.2 With Automatic Password Entry For Apps And Chrome Browser
-
2
6 Years Ago Today
AT&T U-verse Customers Can Now Stream Live Video With The WatchESPN App
-
30
7 Years Ago Today
Ice Cream Sandwich Leaks For AT&T's GSII Skyrocket, Here's The Download
-
0
8 Years Ago Today
AT&T Confirms That The Atrix And The Inspire Will Receive HSUPA-Enabling Updates In April
-
5
9 Years Ago Today
Android Market Hits Another Milestone - Now Serving 40,000 Applications
-
145
