nowcast preview
Live Now

Search location by ZIP code



Smart vacuum technology raises privacy concerns

Smart vacuum technology raises privacy concerns
Smart vacuum technology raises privacy concerns

Robotic devices such as Roomba are meant to scour your floor, cleaning your home while you’re away but what if they were gathering more than just dust?

The creator of Roomba, iRobot, is toying with idea of using the mini vacuums to include mapping technology that would generate a complete picture of the rooms it cleans.


Related Content

According to Reuters, this technology could be used to start the process of making “smart homes” a thing of the future.

“Smart homes” as a concept would allow homeowners to talk with an artificial intelligence voice.

Companies such as Apple, Xfinity and Nest already offer a variation of this idea. Those companies allow users to access their air conditioning systems, wireless lighting and even home security but iRobot would take it one step further.

Sound familiar? That’s because there was Disney channel original movie that aired in 1999 that explored the reality of this idea but to a much a larger scale. It was called “Smart House.”

The technology used by Roomba not only uses infrared or laser sensors to detect and avoid obstacles but it utilizes “slam technology” combining localization and mapping to give the device the ability to keep track of where it is in the room and to map out the entire room.

Some are concerned about potential privacy issues that could arise if larger companies were to gain access to the information gathered. The terms and services for iRobot allow for the company to share any information gathered to third party vendors and affiliates, the government and "any company transaction, such as a merger, sale of all or a portion of company assets or shares."

Colin Angle, iRobot’s CEO, has reportedly said iRobot would not sell any data without consulting the customers first.

While the concept is said to still be in the works, there are whispers of a possible deal taking place between iRobot, which made Roomba compatible with Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa, and three companies, Amazon, Google or even Apple, in the next couple of years.

Despite the claims, all three companies have declined to comment.