iRobot’s Roomba 690 robotic vacuum will be honored with the first Smart Home Award at the 2018 Housewares Design Awards celebration on January 30 during the Las Vegas Market.
An independent panel of judges selected the Roomba 690 from among several Smart Home Award entries, which also had to be entered into one of the 11 core Housewares Design Awards categories.
iRobot has extended the benefits of cloud-connected cleaning to its entry-level Roomba 690 at a retail price of $375.
Through Wi-Fi connectivity and the iRobot home app, the Roomba 690 offers remote cleaning and scheduling for up to seven times per week, direct access to customer support, customized cleaning settings and compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant devices for easy-to-use voice commands. The app also sends push notifications to alert users to the status of each cleaning mission.
The Roomba 690 uses a patented three-stage cleaning system with dual multi-surface brushes, an edge-sweeping brush, and a powerful vacuum to efficiently clean carpets, rugs and hard floors, according to the company.
An independent panel of design and merchandising experts convened in mid-November to judge the entries and “Best in Category” winners for each of the 11 awards categories.
The Smart Home Award and 11 “Best in Category” winners will be announced at a special Housewares Design Awards celebration and awards ceremony, January 30, 2018, 5 to 7:30 p.m., during the Winter Las Vegas Market at World Market Center Las Vegas.
A trio of “Best of the Best” winners— Gold, Silver and Bronze awards— will be selected from the 11 “Best in Category” honorees.
In addition, The Grommet will be honored with the second annual “Design Influencer of the Year” award. Joanne Domeniconi, The Grommet’s co-founder and chief discovery officer, is set to accept the award.
The 2018 Housewares Design Awards are presented by HomeWorld Business, hosted by Las Vegas Market and sponsored by Whitford Corporation.
The 2018 Housewares Design Awards Celebration kicks off January 30 at 5 p.m. with a cocktail reception on floor C11 of the World Market Center Las Vegas. Winners will be announced and finalists will be recognized on floor C1 from 6:15 p.m to 7:30 p.m.
Each finalist will be displayed in a special gallery on C11 during the 2017 Winter Las Vegas Market.
Tickets to the awards celebration are $25 each and may be purchased online at www.housewaresdesignawards.com/links/venue.php.
Click here for the complete list of the Housewares Design Awards 2018 finalists.