New Roomba Boasts Dog Poop-Avoiding AI

It's only a matter of time.
Wet Paint

Finally, iRobot, an autonomous robot vacuum-maker, has created a new model that reportedly addresses one of the biggest challenges facing artificial intelligence.

Ars Technica reports that the new Roomba J7+ has advanced AI that detects and avoids dog poop. iRobot claims that this should prevent the new model following in its predecessor's footsteps and spreading crap all over your house.

Finally, AI is useful and effective.

Poopocalypse Now

Roombas running across poop and causing havoc on someone's floors is apparently a common problem among pet- and robot-vacuum-owners. It is so common that iRobot spent a lot of time teaching vacuums how to avoid them.

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iRobot trained the vacuums [machine learning algorithms] using hundreds of thousands images of real, fake and simulated cat and dog waste. The company spokesperson said that iRobot is so confident in its pet waste detection that it is offering the Pet Owner Official Promise (P.O.O.P. ?

Although it is cute, this last part seems to be a serious problem. You can thank Ars for digging up this highlight reel of dog-poop-meets-vacuum horror stories, some of which include pictures you definitely shouldnt look at during lunch. They left out my favorite, as a former chihuahua dog owner.

READ MORE: New Roomba says poopocalypse horror stories will be a thing of the future [Ars Technica]

You can read more about iRobot by visiting iRobot's first autonomous lawnmower in action

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