Will it be the IROBOT for Roomba at the expense of the history of innovation?

When I saw The latest robot voids from IROBOT I announce this week, my first idea, “This does not look like Roombas; it looks like a medium -range models of Roborock, Ecovacs and Dreame.” Of course, as the manufacturer of the void, IRBOT products may have inspired the design of most of its competitors. But Roombas has always had a uniqueness that distinguishes them from the crowd.

With these new models, the company falls to the homogeneity of the current crop of voids, the sacrifice of many of its distinctive features and the move from the extremist to the middle of the road to seek to restore a larger slice of the market.

IROBOT has long been famous for creating robots for the home, and marketing its new line as “new penetration products”. But the only prominent innovation I have seen so far is On board the dust compressed basket on board. The rest is to a large extent heating every medium robot vacuum on the market today.

Then, a day after the launch of eight new robot voids – the largest products launch in its history – IROBOT warned that it was in such terrible financial straps that It can be closed in 12 months. Suddenly, everything became clear.

They don’t like Roombas because they are not the roombas that I know and Recommended for years. according to Ibot financial reports were published This week, the company has completely restructured its supply chain in an attempt to profitable. that it Transfer production to one factoryand Shenzhen Picea RoboticsChinese headquarters Odm This makes voids for various brands, including their king, below 3irobotix name. Basically, IROBOT makes a completely new Roombas. But this transformation is not related to innovation – it is related to cutting and surviving.

Gary Cohen, CEO of IROBOT, says We will enhance profits compared to their old products. However, in this process, they risk sacrificing the uniqueness that distinguishes ROOOBAS.

Once a pioneer in the market, Ishbot struggled with fierce competition and failure $ 1.7 billion, Amazon acquisition. Last year, the organizers decided that there would be the Gorilla Amazon behind it, Gorilla may become 800 pounds in the room and Scuppered the deal. This left the company without seeing it CEO and founder Colin AngelForced to benefit More than half of its employees, And with a mountain of debt.

In response, mainly to survive, the company produces products that resemble each other robot on the block and adopted many new features in these models. These include Lidar navigationSpinning mops, white robots. (I can understand the first two, but do not buy a vacuum of white robot unless you really enjoy cleaning your robot vacuum.)

Consumers have requested these advantages for years, and perhaps their absence has prompted many to choose one of its competitors on Roomba – I saw the company a 44 percent decrease in revenue The last quarter compared to the same time in the previous year. But in this process, and based on the latest robots, it appears that it has been abandoned a lot, making it unique – it’s excellent Double rubber cylinder brushesSophisticated and reliable VLAM navigationBadi MP withdrawal system, Elegant Passable sidewalks automatically.

I asked the IROBOT comment on a new Roombas similar to the Chinese competition. He pointed out that IROBOT set the design standard for consumer robots, so, in fact, it is the competition that has been copied.

“Other Android voids and exploration solutions throughout the industry have similar design features for Roomba because other manufacturers have not yet developed a new and transformed factor,” said Inson Hong, the IRBOT industrial director since 2021. Although this may be true five years ago, most of the new Roomba features are present in the competition before reaching Roombas.

You may make the addition of Lidar and Spinning to ROOOBAS more popular, IRobot costs less, and provide excellent automatic voids (something we will not know until we can test them). But I am skeptical.

How many times has the company re -equipped its products completely to be much cheaper to develop and end with something much better? But it seems that this is what IROBOT is trying to do here.

Company The annual report The “designed” operational restructuring plan says to align our cost structure more closely with revenue expectations near the duration with the aim of improving profitability. Take advantage of a new asset lighting model, we have begun to simplify our supply chain to prepare us for speed and size while relying on our partners and contracts manufacturers to provide un varientation engineering functions. “

The company says it plans to “invest in software intelligence, higher -value robots, computer vision, and machine learning.” But this will be difficult for a largely reduced workforce, a It reduced the research and development budgetAnd refreshing abroad for some engineering to “low -cost areas”.

The program is one of the areas where IROBOT has been dominant. Its application was traditionally, easy to use and more reliable than its competitors. that it Discover an obstacle of artificial intelligence He is a pioneer in this industry, and has developed many other machine learning techniques that make their robots better detergents, such as Dirt discoveryWho gets to know the dirty fields and focuses more time.

We hope the software remains a strong IROBOT suit and will be a way to distinguish. The discovery of artificial intelligence has already been added to one of his new Tarz, which helps the robot avoid pets and prevent them from thwarting its mission because you left a sock in the living room.

Along with new products, the company announced a new application. However, the new Roomba Home app will only work with the latest models; Everyone will continue to use the IROBOT app. It is a worrying sign that the company leaves its old products behind it. (With regard to development, IROBOT told me that he has no plans to stop supporting any of its current products.)

While all of this may be the right step for the company given its current financial state, I am sad to see this shift away from what made Roomba “Roomba”. This is the company that was mainly invented the robot vacuum for more than 20 years – and invented Modern Self -Packing FundRobot purification of the floor, and the idea of ​​a robot vacuum The presence of a “brain”.

There is no doubt that IROBOT has made mistakes over the years. He should have jumped on the two directions in one sooner. It took a very long time to develop a multi -functional pave Wipe your floors very efficiently. (But spinning exploration platforms are also something last year; new innovation It is withdrawable cylinder stations))

I do not agree that IROBOT should have turned into Lidar soon – may be a slower VLAM, but it is more reliable. I do not think it failed to innovate. I am sure that there are initial models in HQ IROBOT in Bidford, Massachusetts, with cloudable cylinder stations, camera -based navigation, weapons and legs to climb all over your home.

But the company moved very slowly. It was exceeded by Chinese companies such as Roborock, Dreame, EcovACs and Innovations without stopping On the other hand by robots that are not called goods that you can buy on Amazon at less than $ 200.

There was a moment a year or so when IROBOT could have applied himself as a sophisticated commander in Home Robotics Smart Home. It is exciting to think about its place Innovation could have gone, With strength Amazon behind this. But the loss of this deal and its leadership leadership was left by Adrift, and now it bounces between its past and its future, in an attempt to find the place that suits it today.