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Amazon bought iRobot, a manufacturer of Roomba robot vacuum cleaners.The bombshell arrived a few moments ago and reveals an agreement between the two companies worth about 1.7 billion dollars. Amazon will acquire iRobot for $ 61 per share in an all-cash transaction.
“Customers love iRobot products and are thrilled to be working with the iRobot team to come up with ways that make customers’ lives easier and more fun.”he claims Dave LimpSVP of Amazon Devices.
Will Amazon become the queen of home robotics?
We clearly don’t yet know how iRobot will be integrated into Amazon once the deal is finalized and cleared by regulatory authorities, but it appears that Amazon still wants to keep Colin Angle as iRobot’s CEO.
We remember that iRobot has been designing home robotics since 2002 and has sold millions of its popular Roomba vacuum cleaners. Just earlier this year iRobot had launched its latest iRobot operating system, an artificial intelligence-based platform for its robotic vacuum cleaners. The operating system was designed by iRobot to differentiate between Roomba products from the competition with the inclusion of new and original software features.
Although Amazon does not detail its plans for iRobot, the synergies with its other smart home products are clearLast year, Amazon launched its smart home robot in the US Star priced at $ 999, what else if not “the child of love between a Roomba and an Echo Show smart display”, according to those who have tried it. The home assistant robot can draw floor plans, listen to commands to move between rooms, and even recognize faces. Just like an Alexa-based device, it can answer questions, play music, and show things like the weather.
The latest iRobot operating system may not be mounted on an Alexa but it is clear that the idea of having Amazon and iRobot together under the same company can only make all domestic robot manufacturers tremble.. In fact, Amazon’s goal will certainly be to get a better understanding of the house through artificial intelligence and Alexa’s smart features, and then extend to other areas of the smart home.
The combination of Roomba, Alexa, Ring and other Amazon smart home products offer the company an incredible amount of data for the best modern smart home. It will naturally lead us to further questions about Amazon’s privacy and control on the smart home market. But clearly the answers will come from the public and the future.
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