iRobot Releases Roomba 880, Delivering 50 Percent Better Cleaning With 'AeroForce' Technology

iRobot, the company behind the ubiquitous oversized sweeping hockey puck and cat conveyance, has unveiled an upgraded little robot to help keep your house clean.

Roombas are probably the first robot to make its way into daily home life in the U.S., and while the autonomous black sweeper discs are a lot of fun, and pretty useful for getting that crud off of floors where it gathers most frequently - like the tile floors of a kitchen - there's obviously been no contest between a Roomba and a "real" vacuum cleaner.

Add to that the fact that the little sweepers on the underside of the cute robot often got tangled with hair and caked with dust, and the superiority of carpet cleaning appliances that (sigh) must still be actively guided by human hands becomes apparent.

Well now iRobot is closing the gap a little more with its latest Roomba 880 vacuum cleaning robot, which the company says is "iRobot's most advanced Roomba yet." iRobot unveiled and released the new Roomba 880, a member of the Roomba 800 Series, on its website for North American consumers on Tuesday. 

According to iRobot, the 800 series is much more like a vacuum than a floor sweeper, using "new AeroForce Extractors, part of the patent-pending AeroForce Performance Cleaning System," according to the company's release. 

"Bristle brushes have been around for a hundred years. With these new AeroForce Extractors, we've invented a completely different way to clean your floor," said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. "With the Roomba 800 Series and AeroForce technology, iRobot is disrupting the floor care category yet again." 

According to Christian Cerda, senior vice president and general manager of iRobot's Home Robots business division, the new Roomba will deliver up to 50 percent better cleaning than earlier Roombas, with the same hands-free autonomous features as previous models.

The AeroForce system is brushless, meaning no hair or random strings getting tangled up in the underbelly of the Roomba. Instead the rubber-treaded AeroForce system breaks down debris, while a sealed channel for airflow accelerates the vacuum's airflow all the way down to the floor.

But don't worry, though the big underside brushes are gone, the Roomba 880 will still have one of those little spinning corner catchers that gives the Roomba a little extra reach -sweeping in extra hair, dust, and debris, while also confusing cats who are new to the autonomous vacuum cleaner.

The Roomba 800 series will also feature a HEPA filter, room-to-room navigation, and the "Dirt Detect" version 2 system first introduced on the 700 series, which uses optical and acoustic sensors to detect remaining dust and debris and apply extra cleaning concentration to those areas.

And, of course, the new Roomba will still charge itself, vacuum in a pattern that allows for maximum coverage on any sized room, and can be scheduled to only go to work when you're not likely to be annoyed - or when your cat least expects it, as the case may be.