iRobot Roomba i6 Wifi Robotic Vacuum – V37898

I6 or I-6 may refer to:

• Japanese submarine I-6, an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine launched in 1935 and sunk in 1944
• Polikarpov I-6, a Soviet fighter prototype of the 1930s
• Straight-six engine, six-cylinder internal combustion engine
• Ravenloft (module), or "I6: Ravenloft," a 1983 adventure module for Dungeons & Dragons
• Roewe i6, a Chinese saloon

I 6 is a Swedish regimental designation (6th Infantry Regiment) that has been used by the following units:

• Västgöta Regiment (1816–1927)
• North Scanian Infantry Regiment (1928–1963)

iRobot Corporation is an American technology company that designs and builds consumer robots. It was founded in 1990 by three members of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, who designed robots for space exploration and military defense. The company's products include a range of autonomous home vacuum cleaners (Roomba), floor moppers (Braava), and other autonomous cleaning devices.

A planned takeover deal by Amazon.com for US$1.7 billion, announced in August 2022, collapsed in January 2024 amid antitrust scrutiny by the European Commission.

Roomba is a term that refers to a series of autonomous robotic vacuum cleaners made by the company iRobot, and was first introduced in September 2002. Roombas have a set of sensors which help them navigate the floor area of a home. These sensors can detect the presence of obstacles and steep drops (e.g., to avoid falling down stairs).

As of 2024, iRobot markets models of their fourth through tenth generation, while continuing to provide support and to sell accessories for their previous series. Various models of the Roomba have different features, including tangle-free brushes, separate sweep canisters, more powerful vacuums, obstacle avoidance, and performance maps displayed via smartphone apps. Newer models also have a camera, which works in conjunction with onboard mapping and navigation software to systematically cover all floor areas, move from room to room, avoid obstacles such as pet waste and charging cables, and find recharging stations.

Roombas allow some modulation and reprogramming. Parts of some models are interchangeable, allowing owners to mix and match features or switch to other units for longer battery operation. Additionally, some units can be adapted to perform more creative tasks using an embedded computer in conjunction with the Roomba Open Interface.

In August 2022, Amazon announced its intention to purchase iRobot, though the acquisition was delayed by regulators in Europe for fear of hurting competition. As of January 2024, these plans were abandoned by Amazon.

A vacuum (pl.: vacuums or vacua) is space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective vacuus (neuter vacuum) meaning "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often discuss ideal test results that would occur in a perfect vacuum, which they sometimes simply call "vacuum" or free space, and use the term partial vacuum to refer to an actual imperfect vacuum as one might have in a laboratory or in space. In engineering and applied physics on the other hand, vacuum refers to any space in which the pressure is considerably lower than atmospheric pressure. The Latin term in vacuo is used to describe an object that is surrounded by a vacuum.

The quality of a partial vacuum refers to how closely it approaches a perfect vacuum. Other things equal, lower gas pressure means higher-quality vacuum. For example, a typical vacuum cleaner produces enough suction to reduce air pressure by around 20%. But higher-quality vacuums are possible. Ultra-high vacuum chambers, common in chemistry, physics, and engineering, operate below one trillionth (10⁻¹²) of atmospheric pressure (100 nPa), and can reach around 100 particles/cm³. Outer space is an even higher-quality vacuum, with the equivalent of just a few hydrogen atoms per cubic meter on average in intergalactic space.

Vacuum has been a frequent topic of philosophical debate since ancient Greek times, but was not studied empirically until the 17th century. Clemens Timpler (1605) philosophized about the experimental possibility of producing a vacuum in small tubes. Evangelista Torricelli produced the first laboratory vacuum in 1643, and other experimental techniques were developed as a result of his theories of atmospheric pressure. A Torricellian vacuum is created by filling with mercury a tall glass container closed at one end, and then inverting it in a bowl to contain the mercury (see below).

Vacuum became a valuable industrial tool in the 20th century with the introduction of incandescent light bulbs and vacuum tubes, and a wide array of vacuum technologies has since become available. The development of human spaceflight has raised interest in the impact of vacuum on human health, and on life forms in general.