iRobot’s latest robotic vacuum cleaner comes with AI to detect and avoid pet waste and charging cords.

Pet-owners who also own iRobot’s (NASDAQ: IRBT) robot vacuum cleaners have often faced a nightmarish scenario: the robot smeared the house after failing to recognize and circumvent the pet’s poop. Well, the company has now addressed the problem by equipping the gadget with AI. (CNN)

New j7+ robot from Roomba

iRobot on Thursday launched its j7+ model robot cleaner. The machine uses AI to steer clear of pet poop and electronics’ cords.

But how do you train the AI model to recognize the pet’s mess?

According to IRobot cofounder and CEO Colin Angle, the company took years to compile a library of poop images. These were both real, and faux – it made realistic models out of Play-doh and painted them in realistic colors. These were then photographed from different angles and under different lighting.

Angle said even pet-owning employees were required to upload images of their pets’ poop to the data base.

After building computing power into the Roomba, the company loaded image-recognition algorithms that worked with an onboard camera to spot poop. The algos send out an alert to the allied smartphone app along with an image of the obstacle.

iRobot is sure that the new innovations will avoid any “excrement-fueled nightmares,” and stands ready to replace the machine in case it finds itself in deep s**t.

A P.O.O.P. (Pet Owner Official Promise) guarantee promises owners that if the Roomba fails to avoid solid pet waste within a year of purchase, the company will replace it with a new one for free.

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