IRobot's New App to Make Your Home Smarter!

The key to scaling the idea of a smart home could be maps.
iRobot has ostensibly been making smart home devices longer than anyone, but most think of iRobot as an appliance company. On the cusp of its second quarter century, iRobot thinks it can change that perception by officially entering the smart home field, but through a side door.
iRobot co-founder and CEO Colin Angle has a vision for smart home technology that doesn't involve iRobot adding more task-specific smart devices into the home. Instead, he wants to use low-cost vision systems to build a map of your home and objects and use that to drive smart-device activity, human engagement and interactivity.
He argues that current smart home devices like the Google-owned Nest and Dropcam, like Lockitron smart door locks, intelligent home vents from Keen and other connected or Internet of Things devices do not, with their individual apps and walled garden functionalities, offer scalable smart home solutions.