Roomba's Next Big Step Is Selling Maps of Your Home to the Highest Bidder

gizmodo ^ | July 24,2017 | rhett jone

[BenLurkin]

The Roomba is generally regarded as a cute little robot friend that no one but dogs would consider to be a potential menace. But for the last couple of years, the robovacs have been quietly mapping homes to maximize efficiency. Now, the device’s makers plan to sell that data to smart home device manufacturers, turning the friendly robot into a creeping, creepy little spy.

While it may seem like the information that a Roomba could gather is minimal, there’s a lot to be gleaned from the maps it’s constantly updating. It knows the floor plan of your home, the basic shape of everything on your floor, what areas require the most maintenance, and how often you require cleaning cycles, along with many other data points.

[BenLurkin]

” iRobot, which made Roomba compatible with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in March, could reach a deal to sell its maps to one or more of the Big Three in the next couple of years.

“If a company like Amazon, for example, wanted to improve its Echo smart speaker, the Roomba’s mapping info could certainly help out. Spatial mapping could improve audio performance by taking advantage of the room’s acoustics. Do you have a large room that’s practically empty? Targeted furniture ads might be quite effective. The laser and camera sensors would paint a nice portrait for lighting needs that would factor into smart lights that adjust in real time. Smart AC units could better control airflow.”

[ifinnegan]

Paranoia to think this is insidious.

[RegulatorCountry]

Pollyannish to think that this won’t eventually be abused.

[Fireone]

No problem, I don’t vacuum the tunnels.

[ifinnegan]

“Pollyannish to think that this won’t eventually be abused.”

What do you mean by abused?

I can imagine, but wonder what you mean.

All tech is abused one way or another, we all know that.

I’d say for every incidence of abuse, a million-fold will have benefited from the data will have provided info for better and better products down the line that help our lives and the economy.

[BenLurkin]

It is impossible to believe that this device is incapable of storing on-board all the information it needs to vacuum your house.

That it is sending data back to the manufacturer is insidious on its face.

[Garth Tater]

Why would I need a robot to clean the house? I’m married.

[LostInBayport]

And to think I was thinking of buying one of these (the cat hair, the cat hair). Screw that. Swiffer and vacuum, your contracts have been renewed.

[EinNYC]

I like my Miele canister. It is awesome on cat hair. And it doesn’t report back to Big Bro.

[RegulatorCountry]

If you want an online entity to know the layout and contents of your house given the widespread incidence of hacking and data breach then have at it. But, I'm not particularly enthralled at the idea, myself. Tell me, does the notion that your vacuum cleaner, your vacuum cleaner, is gathering data on you and reporting it to a central database for future monetization not disturb you at all? How many potential uses of this data can you envision that would not exactly be appealing? You can bet your taxing authority would be interested if cheap enough and it will be. What if a sort of casing database pops up on the dark web targeting apparently well-off households, not just contents but providing a convenient map? Does that sound implausible to you? Where there's money to be made there's a will to do it, and where there's a will there's a way.

[LostInBayport]

Thank you for that tip! I’m looking at them on Amazon. About the same cost as a roomba (or knock-off roomba), and probably a better choice since the human factor will ensure that all corners and crevices are taken care of.

[ifinnegan]

“What if a sort of casing database pops up on the dark web targeting apparently well-off households, not just contents but providing a convenient map? Does that sound implausible to you?”

That’s one I thought of. It would also, perhaps more so, apply to law enforcement agencies to have the floor plan and associated details.

What other scenarios do you envision.

[LegendHasIt]

You know what would be fun?

Reprogramming the dang things to use for practice on moving targets.

[Billthedrill]

You just have to have your cats keep an eye on it.

[BenLurkin]

Adorable!

[21twelve]

The only trouble is, it will make all of that high-tech thermal imaging stuff the FBI has to see through walls worthless.

[21twelve]

That pokemon app that the kids use to “catch” them wherever they are? It was designed by a guy that helped create google earth (I think). Both google earth and pokeman were/are funded in part by the government in order to develop software that helps track people.

I’m not saying that Pokemon IS sending the tracking information to the government - but that is part of the design, and is why the government is interested in the application of it. In the small print it does say that any of the information obtained (gps coordinates, photos, etc.) becomes the property of Pokemon and can be shared with law enforcement.

[PLMerite]

"Roomba's Next Big Step Is Selling Maps of Your Home to the Highest Bidder"

Wow! Thank goodness the Woomba was just an SNL skit. Think of the dirt one of those could dish out.

[catnipman]

i can see county assessors buying this information wholesale looking for home additions built without permits, and thereby showing less square footage in the assessors’ databases than exists in reality.