iRobot today introduced its smartest, most powerful and efficient vacuuming robots yet, the new 500 series iRobot? Roomba? Vacuum Cleaning Robots. Based on customer feedback from more than 2 million buyers since Roomba?s introduction nearly five years ago, iRobot has reinvented its flagship home robot to deliver 100 percent improved vacuum performance for a cleaner home, every day.
With the Roomba 500 series, iRobot further raised the IQ of home care. The new robots can free themselves from almost any household jam so there is virtually no need to prep rooms before Roomba begins cleaning. The 500 series robots now know when they have finished cleaning one room and then move on to the next. Versions of the new Roomba 500 series are immediately available in the U.S. and range in price from $250 to $399.
?It took three years and the latest in robot technology innovations to create an appliance that can clean as effectively and autonomously as the new Roomba 500 series,? said Sandra Lawrence, president of iRobot Home Robots. ?Life today is so busy, we rarely have the time or the energy to clean our homes as often as we?d like. If you wish you could have clean floors every day, this one?s for you.?
The iRobot Roomba 500 series includes the following new features:
- * A solid, reinforced industrial design for enhanced durability;
* Anti-tangle technology so Roomba can extract itself from tassels and cord tangles;
* iRobot?s proprietary built-in, soft-touch intelligent sensing system that can detect when Roomba is approaching a wall or obstacle and automatically slow the robot for a gentler impact and quieter operation;
* One-button activation, so Roomba users of any age can simply press ?clean? and go;
* A built-in voice tutorial for new users that demonstrates Roomba?s features right out of the box; and
* Colorful faceplates in white, steel blue, champagne, burnt orange, silver, charcoal, chestnut and carbon fiber so people can choose the Roomba to match their personal style.
The Roomba 530 includes all of these features and cleans up to three standard rooms before returning to its Home Base? to recharge. Roomba 530 also comes with two standard Virtual Walls? that confine the robot to certain areas using an infrared beam.
The Roomba 560 includes Virtual Wall Lighthouses. These mini-towers ? just 4.25? inches tall by 3.5? inches wide ? help orient Roomba via radio frequency (RF) communications and guide Roomba systematically through the home. The Virtual Wall Lighthouses confine the Roomba to one room until that room is thoroughly cleaned, and then guide Roomba into the next room. Once Roomba 560 is finished cleaning, or when its battery is running low, the Virtual Wall Lighthouses direct the robot to its Home Base to dock and recharge. Roomba 560 also includes an on-board scheduling function, so it can be programmed to automatically clean up to seven days a week, even when owners are away. Additional robots in the new line offer the ability to steer and control Roomba from across the room with a Wireless Command Center.
All Roomba 500 series robots include iRobot?s patented 3-stage cleaning system that automatically adjusts to effectively clean carpets and hard floors. Roomba?s intelligent cleaning system evaluates its environment more than 60 times per second so the robot is always delivering the right amount of cleaning power to your floor.
Availability
The new Roomba 500 series robots are available immediately in the U.S. from irobot.com, HSN and Amazon.com. iRobot?s retail partners including Sears, Target, Best Buy, Kohls, Bed Bath and Beyond and Linens ?n? Things, will have the product available this fall.
I have a Roomba 560 on hand right now. First impressions, comparisons, and TONS of photo's and video soon to follow!
This is great news indeed! Really like the light house feature and the modular design! Those are great improvements and continued evolution of the Roomba! 
