Amazon to gain data on millions of homes as it hoovers up irobot

AMAZON is buying the maker of robot vacuum maker Roomba for $1.65bn (£1.37bn), a deal that will prompt concern about the tech giant gaining access to data about customers’ homes.

The e-commerce giant has announced a deal to buy irobot Corporation for $61-per-share, joining other smart devices in Amazon’s stable including video doorbell Ring and the Alexa voice assistant.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is likely to draw close scrutiny given the data involved.

Campaign groups are concerned Amazon will gain information about the layout of Roomba users’ homes. More than 40m devices have been sold by irobot around the world. Robert Weissman, president of US consumer rights group Public Citizen, told Bloomberg News: “The last thing America and the world needs is Amazon vacuuming up even more of our personal information.

“This is not just about Amazon selling another device in its marketplace … it’s about the company gaining still more intimate details of our lives.”

According to irobot, its robots “can map the floor of a home, sense changes in the floor type being cleaned, spot clean, avoid objects and cliffs (such as stairs)”. Such technology relies on onboard sensors that monitor space and a Wi-fi connection so it can be sent to a data centre

for processing.

A similar deal struck in 2018 also prompted concern among campaigners. Amazon acquired remote doorbell company Ring for $1bn (£829m), before entering into partnerships with police, distributed them to burglary victims as a home security measure. Civil liberties groups condemned the arrangements. A spokesman for Liberty told the Daily Mail police forces were “turning our front doors into CCTV cameras”.

Three members of MIT’S Artificial Intelligence Lab founded irobot in 1999. As well as the Roomba, its best known product, the company makes other cleaning robots such as the Braava, an automated mop.

Yesterday, irobot reported sales for the three months leading up to July of $255.4m (£211.7m). That fell $50m short of the figure predicted by analysts. The company said it would shed 10pc of its workforce as a result, even as it announced the Amazon acquisition.

Dave Limp, senior vice-president of Amazon Devices, said: “We know that saving time matters, and chores take precious time that can be better spent doing something that customers love.”

Amazon’s Astro robot, which helps with tasks such as setting an alarm, was unveiled last year at an introductory price of $1,000 but has received a lacklustre response.

$255.4m

Sales reported by irobot for the three months leading up to July – $50m below analysts expectations