Roombas Can Now Detect Christmas Trees and Loose Socks

Thanks to a new update, Roomba J7 and J7+ models will be able to identify and clean around Christmas trees as well as loose socks and shoes.

Roomba manufacturer iRobot stated the update was made possible via “advanced machine learning algorithms” that would allow the robot vacuums to detect fallen pine needles. In addition to this new spatial awareness, Roomba owners will be able to transfer an existing Smart Map from one robot to another.

The update comes through the iRobot HOME App and the iRobot Genius feature. The Genius feature allows Roombas to learn and adapt to their surrounding home environment for a personalized map.

With this feature, the Roomba will suggest a particular path it can take to clean around the tree and not bump into it.

Detecting loose socks and shoes lying around on the floor are also additions to the list of objects that Roombas can see and avoid. This list includes recent additions like cords and pet waste. iRobot also says its vacuums will continue getting smarter and be able to identify more objects in future updates.

One additional new feature is Smart Map support, which will allow owners to share a map layout between different compatible units. This also includes the Braava jet m6, the company’s robotic mop unit.

This feature improves the transition to a new unit since the new Roomba unit won’t have to learn the floor layout again but instead can work from the knowledge of the previous unit. The update is currently being rolled out.