iRobot syncs with IFTTT to make your Roomba smarter
With a little help from IFTTT, your Roomba can run automatically at the perfect time, or automatically pause a cleaning cycle when you answer a phone call.
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
iRobot's Roomba robot vacuums just got a lot smarter, thanks to a new channel on the free online automation service IFTTT, the company announced Monday.
IFTTT applets like these help you automate your Roomba's cleaning cycles in a variety of useful ways.
Compatibility with IFTTT means that Wi-Fi-equipped Roombas like the Roomba 980 can now sync up with dozens of different platforms, services and products using IFTTT's "if this, then that" approach to automation.
You can program your Roomba to trigger anything that works with IFTTT whenever your robot vacuum finishes a cleaning cycle, and you can also use anything that works with IFTTT to trigger your robot vacuum to start, stop or pause cleaning.
You'll also find a collection of preconfigured applets in iRobot's IFTTT channel, which you can enable with just a few taps. Some of the more inherently useful options include one that pauses your Roomba's cleaning cycle whenever you answer your Android phone, and another that pauses it whenever your smart doorbell rings. IFTTT can also use your phone's GPS data to trigger an automatic cleaning cycle whenever you leave home.
Those are essentially the same applets you'll find in the IFTTT channel for iRobot rival Neato, which has been live since earlier this year. Consider the playing field leveled now that iRobot's on IFTTT, too.