Roomba maker iRobot Corp announced future plans to sell maps of users' homes to advertisers, according to an interview iRobot CEO Colin Angle gave yesterday.
There's no deadline set for when this will happen, but investors are itching at the possible earnings, hence the reason why iRobot stock grew to $102 per share in June 2017 compared to only $35 in the same month last year.
Roomba vacuums have been mapping homes since 2015
Roomba autonomous robotic vacuum cleaners have been on the market since 2002, and are an undeniable and overwhelming success.
In 2015, iRobot started selling Roomba models capable of mapping homes, so the vacuums would know where they should go and stop bumping into furniture or other things.
These maps have been kept on the device, but iRobot plans to upload them to its servers, and soon, sell them to online advertisers like Amazon, Apple, or Google.
Primary buyers aren't your regular ad companies, but makers of smart home voice assistants, like Amazon (Alexa), Apple (Siri), and Google (Home). These companies could buy this data and combine it with the telemetry they get from their devices and built user profiles that they can sell down the road to classic advertising companies, or offer advertising inside their products.
"There's an entire ecosystem of things and services that the smart home can deliver once you have a rich map of the home that the user has allowed to be shared," iRobot CEO Colin Angle told Reuters in an interview.
No user data will be sold without permission
In spite of the bold privacy-intrusive business strategy, Angle is well aware that some users won't like the company's direction. This is why Angle said they won't share any data unless users agree beforehand.
If you own a Roomba smart vacuum, it would be wise to keep an eye on any privacy or ToS updates in the near future.
Image credits: iRobot Corp
Comments
NickAu - 5 years ago
"These maps have been kept on the device, but iRobot plans to upload them to its servers,"
So it would need a internet connection to do that?
Occasional - 5 years ago
"won't share any data unless users agree beforehand" rather than won't collect? Once collected, data is often "shared" without permission - read "hacked". Same goes for all others in the back channel advertising scheme.
Another point: can your ex "agree" after he or she moves out, or is about to? Robo-revenge?
malwaredpc - 5 years ago
If its algorithm wasn't so stupid, more people would buy it and they'd get more revenue for that instead of the need to sell others data.
TsVk! - 5 years ago
Wish I'd bought roomba shares.
Exnor - 5 years ago
That's nice.... coming up next you internet connected vibrator/sex toy data is sold to potential advertisers...... or interested 3rd parties.
NickAu - 5 years ago
" Wish I'd bought roomba shares. "
I can lend you a few if you like.
TsVk! - 5 years ago
So I can use them as dunny roll in a few months? ... lol
We could just sell the ones you bought last June mate, go fishing with the proceeds.
Occasional - 5 years ago
Wrong thread, sorry.