It’s not exactly Rosie, but maybe it’s close enough — thanks to Neato, we now have a voice-activated vacuum cleaner. Yesterday, the company announced that the Neato Botvac Connected now works with Amazon’s voice-activated assistant, Alexa. The Botvac Connected can now be used with Amazon’s smart home speakers, including the Echo and Dot, or any of the handful of third-party Alexa speakers out there, like Triby.
The Neato Botvac Connected is the company’s high-end robot vacuum, which combines premium suction power with Wi-Fi connectivity and advanced sensors that allow the vacuum to map a room and create efficient cleaning paths. Starting this week, Botvac Connected owners who have an Amazon Alexa device can open the Alexa app and search for Neato under Get More Smart Home Skills. Once the two are connected, the vacuum can be started, paused, or scheduled using commands like “Alexa, tell Neato to…”
The new feature is free for all Botvac Connected owners. However, for now, the feature is exclusive to the Botvac Connected, and is not available on the cheaper Botvac D3 Connected and Botvac D5 Connected vacuums. If you don’t have a Botvac Connected and are considering one, you can get a free Echo Dot, Amazon’s smallest Alexa speaker, with the purchase of a Botvac Connected between this Friday and December 23. You’ll have to buy the vacuum on Amazon to get the bundle.
