iRobot Corporation patents intelligent navigation system for Roombas

The Roomba was deemed to be a whole lot more intelligent compared to a “dumb” vacuum cleaner that required human hands to lead the machine along the floor of your home, sucking up evil dust bunnies in the process. Well, when the Roomba was introduced, it set the whole world talking simply because the Roomba could be left alone to clean up whatever dust and dirt that’s around your home. Good thing progress is inherent in human nature, which is why iRobot Corporation has patented a new intelligent navigation system for its Roomba line of robotic vacuums to keep up with the times.

It is pretty similar to Evolution’s NorthStar system, in terms of relying on a stationary emitter which will project infrared dots on a ceiling, where the robot will then detect and rely on to navigate. Also known as the Celestial Navigation System for an Autonomous Robot, this method will bounce IR or other signals from an emitter off of either a wall or a ceiling, where the robot will go ahead and use it to triangulate its position all the time thanks to an array of photodiode detectors on the top of the robot. Keeping your home clean has just gotten a whole lot smarter, eh?