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Why Amazon is Buying iRobot
Amazon + iRobot
Amazon has a very high ambition on robotics . They first started their journey in this world by creating online market place for consumers . But behind the scenes it is always manual labor which was involved.
Once they gain the popularity among consumers with the front end, then they started thinking of automating the heck out of everything. It ranged from automating warehouse efficiencies to creating drone and investing in self driving companies like zoox.
But why iRobot. It is a consumer facing company mainly selling vaccum robots and mopping robots. What amazon needed it for . Are they planning to clean their warehouses using those robots.
NO.
These robots from iRobot operates based on a algorithm called SLAM.
SLAM or Simultaneous Localization and Mapping is an algorithm that allows a device/robot to build its surrounding map and as well as detect and percieve type of objects around it. It is a very common algorithm used in autonomous vehicles or robots that allow them to map unknown surroundings. The maps can be used to carry out a task such as a path planning and obstacle avoidance for autonomous vehicles.
This slam algorithm can be modified to perceive exactly what type of objects your household has . Amazon can use this…
