Roomba (see picture) is a home vacuuming product from iRobot, which has already sold over 2 million units. Though it does not look like a robot it is worth it sure acts like one.
Colin Angle, CEO and co-founder of iRobot, says, "When we started shipping Roomba in 2002, we asked focus groups if it was a robot. They said no, a robot was humanoid and this was an intelligent floor vacuum. Now people are definitely changing to accept robot appliances."
A survey showed most owners gave their Roombas pet names.
James Kuffner, an associate professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, says
However, once Roomba is upgraded to include mobile technology and connects to a Cloud Service then conversational AI can engage in dialogue with its owner. This could include health advice (refer to blog reference AI 5) and of course creates new inventory and opportunities for advertising.
