iRobot has been continuously adding ways to make Roomba vacuums are going to feel like they are actually a part of your connected home, they have to do over dutifully clean your floors on a set schedule. Thankfully, iRobot helps them do exactly that. It just added IFTTT “recipes” that tell Roomba robots once to clean or to interact with other devices. you’ll tell your robovac to start cleaning when you leave or stop when you get home, for starters. However, the cleverest tricks come when the robot interacts with the outside world. you’ll tweet to your Roomba to start a command or have it posted on Facebook or Twitter when it’s done. you’ll even have it flash your Hue lights or play music (on Android devices) when it’s finished, in case there is something you wish to do immediately afterward.
Other IFTTT recipes include cleaning before a calendar event (important for that big dinner party), pausing your Roomba during a call and notifying you when there are new iRobot actions and applets. the company is hinting at a lot of in-depth actions, in addition — imagine your robot cleaning more frequently once the weather forecast mentions high pollen levels.
Between this and voice assistant support (Roombas will respond to both Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant), it’s clear iRobot is feeling the heat from competitors that increasingly tout similar features. IFTTT is not important for controlling a robot vacuum with an Echo speaker, but it provides power users a better reason to like a Roomba over the alternatives.
