The smart connected home is a fast growing market and right now one of the main components in this growth is Amazon’s Echo speaker, but more specifically the Alexa software that powers it, allowing consumers to connect and control various different connected products from other manufacturers, all by speaking to an Alexa-enabled device like the Echo or Echo Dot. Today, Neato Robotics has just announced that the Botvac Connected is gaining support for Amazon’s Alexa software. This means consumers who own an Alexa-powered device as well as the Neato Botvac Connected will be able to use the Alexa Voice Software to control their robot vacuum just by speaking to it.
Through the Alexa Voice Software integration, Neato Botvac Connected owners will be able to issue a few different commands to their Echo or Echo Dot speaker. Users will be able to ask Alexa to start cleaning whenever they’re ready, and they’ll also be able to issue a pause command in the event that they need the vacuum to stop but not completely. When they want the vacuum to continue they can then issue a resume command to allow the Neato Botvac Connected to finish out its cleaning duties before making its way back to the base where it sits when in need of a charge and when not in use.
While using the Neato Botvac Connected was already a simple affair thanks to the companion app that manages control of the vacuum and its various cleaning schedules and settings, with Alexa Voice Software integration there will be no need to pull out your smartphone, making the entire process that much more convenient than it was to begin with. To help usher in this new feature, Neato will be holding a special promotion on the Neato Botvac Connected beginning on Black Friday (November 25th) and going through until December 23rd of this year, which will allow any customers who purchase the Botvac Connected through Amazon to receive a free Echo Dot powered by Alexa, that way they’ll be able to remotely control their Botvac Connected through the app and make use of the new Alexa integration to control the vacuum by voice. Having said that, it’s worth noting that this is a U.S. only promotion and it’s only available for a limited time. When it comes to the Alexa integration, though, Neato Robotics mentions that any Botvac Connected customer will get access to the new Alexa skill from today as long as they’re in the U.S. or the UK, while Germany will see the integration before the end of the year.
