Robot vacuums are certainly a convenient appliance for those with a busy lifestyle. However, they are also the source of many horror stories.
Many models can't tell apart obstacles that they need to void, such as cords and pet waste. Imagine your robot vacuum runs into dog poop - it would be a traumatizing experience when you are forced to clean it.
iRobot promises to solve this problem with the expensive Roomba j7+ and its machine learning capability and built-in camera. This robot vacuum is designed to avoid those messes in the smartest way. But how can it live up to those expectations in the real world?
Advanced Technologies
The Roomba j7+ is the first model to be equipped with the PrecisionVision Navigation technology from iRobot. The job of this combination of software and hardware is to identify every obstacle in the cleaning path and make necessary decisions.
All of this happens in real-time. The camera has been moved to the front from the top, where it was located in other models (like the s9+). This position gives the j7+ a wider view of the room, including more objects at the same time.
The robot then processes this video feed with AI to recognize hazards and adjust the cleaning path if needed. iRobot claims that the company has trained the j7+'s algorithms to identify pet waste, power cables, and phone cords, using millions of images voluntarily contributed by its customers.
To its credit, iRobot shows its confidence in its technology by offering the Pet Owner Official Promise guarantee. Basically, you can get a new one if your unit can't learn to avoid solid waste of your pets within a year.
iRobot intends to expand these capabilities in the future and includes other objects that may prevent its robots from doing their jobs, such as socks and shoes. You can also monitor your robot all the time. Remember that this feature won’t work with your Irobot Roomba not connecting to wifi.
Great Performance
In our testing, the Roomba j7+ did a great job of moving around power cables and phone cords. Socks were a bit hit-and-miss, however. The robot sometimes collided with them, but on other instances, it navigated around them smoothly.
This Roomba model moves efficiently and quickly. It can vacuum in an orderly way instead of moving randomly between walls like other robot vacuums.
You can expect around 90 minutes of vacuuming out of a single charge. It isn't the longest runtime.
It takes the j7+ around 75 minutes to finish vacuuming a 1,000 square-foot area. It might not be able to cover everything if you have a bigger house. This is the biggest weakness of this smart robot vacuum, especially when there are several models that can operate for more than 100 minutes.
But whenever it runs out of power, the j7+ will automatically go back to its docking station for a new charge. There is no need to worry about the machine staying in the middle of the room with a completely depleted battery. Maintenance is a breeze too, as long as you are willing to learn how to empty Irobot Roomba and how to clean Irobot Roomba.
Conclusion
The Roomba j7+ is among the latest robot vacuum generation iRobot has put out. It is pricey, but with its smart technologies, the machine can avoid obstacles like others.
