Robotics company Trifo activates A.I.-based Ironpie robo-vacuum at CES 2019

Trifo may have given the Ironpie robot vacuum a whimsical name, but the home robotics company cast whimsy aside when it described the A.I.-based vac’s features and benefits at the Ironpie launch at CES 2019.

According to Trifo, the Ironpie does everything better than comparable premium robot vacuums at a much lower price.

“Ironpie represents a new generation of home robots, a smart robot vacuum that cleans faster, protects furniture better, is controllable from anywhere and with a host of features that improve on the original home vacuum concept,” said Trifo CEO Zhe Zhang. “We will continuously introduce enhanced intelligence and new features, such as Alexa and Google Home integration in the first half of 2019, to make Ironpie the essential smart home robot.”

The Ironpie’s core technical features pair an ARMv8 quad-core processor with the company’s proprietary Trifo Intelligent Robotics Vision System (TIRVS). The vacuum’s suite of sensors continuously tracks position and orientation in real time. With its accumulated position-tracking data, the Ironpie creates a 3D map of the home. Trifo patented the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system.

The result of the robot vac’s intelligent use of position data, according to Trifo, is at least 10 percent more efficient at cleaning compared to robot vacuums with comparable features. The Ironpie uses a zigzag route that the manufacturer claims helps the vacuum identify areas yet to be cleaned so it can reposition and clean an entire area quickly.

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Onboard infrared and sonar sensors help the Ironpie avoid obstacles in areas with mixed light levels, which in turn protects furniture. The sensors have “cliff detection” so the vacuum won’t fall down stairs.

According to Trifo, the Ironpie smartphone app that manages the robot vacuum can also serve as a remote surveillance utility. A VGA (640 x 480 resolution) video camera mounted on the Ironpie’s top surface.  The smartphone app lets users “see” what the Ironpie’s camera sees to monitor everywhere the robot vac travels in the house. The app also displays a map or track of the vacuum’s route.

The Iron Pie’s 2,500mAh battery fully charges in five hours and has an estimated 100 minutes of cleaning time.

The Iron Pie will be available in February 2019 in black or white with a $299 retail price.

Updated January 11 with availability information and about the video camera used for surveillance.