What happened
Shares of iRobot (IRBT -0.14%), maker of the robotic Roomba vacuum, jumped on Wednesday, finishing the trading day up 9.2%. The stock's gain followed an announcement of a collaboration between Alphabet's (GOOG -1.10%) (GOOGL -1.23%) Google and iRobot to integrate robotic and smart home technologies.
So what
iRobot was already partnering with Google by using Google Assistant to help users give commands to its Roomba vacuums. But this new collaboration takes iRobot and Google's partnership even further.
Roomba 980. Image source: iRobot.
"Working together, iRobot and Google will seek additional ways to integrate their platforms, providing customers with the choice to opt in to new innovative smart home experiences that leverage a broader understanding of the home's space," iRobot said in a press release about the two companies' plans to collaborate. "For example, the spatial awareness of the home that Roomba maintains may help to simplify smart home setup and enable powerful new automations."
iRobot stock also likely benefited from a rise in the overall stock market, particularly in the tech sector.
Now what
While the details of the collaboration are vague, it's likely the partnership will lead to new ways to control and interact with iRobot devices using smart assistants, as well as new features for Google's smart assistants -- enabled by iRobot's spatial awareness technology.
"We're excited to be exploring with iRobot how its unique spatial awareness technology can work with the Assistant to offer customers a more intuitive and personalized experience in their homes," said Google Smart Home Ecosystem director Michele Turner.
This partnership ultimately could help fortify iRobot's lead in consumer cleaning robots by providing customers with a better experience.
