Your dream of having a fully automated or at least smart home cleaning system has just gotten another boost. Google Assistant has added support for those smart robot mops that you see going around and cleaning houses. This will allow device manufacturers to now create Assistant Actions so you will be able to control your robot mops with commands given to Google’s smart voice assistant. This may also mean we should get ready to meet our robot mop overlords in a few years or so.
Okay, robot mops taking over humans is still a pretty far-fetched idea. But controlling them through voice commands is now a reality. According to 9 to 5 Google, how it works is pretty similar to how Google Assistant has also given support to smart vacuums. Only this time around, we’re dealing of course with a different kind of cleaning device, one which involves water and soap and bristles.
Since it’s a bit messier than your good ole smart vacuum, you’d want your robot mops to be controllable as well. Modes will allow you to use different settings depending on your floor type. There are also the standard commands that device makers can create like start / stop, on / off, and run cycles.
Developers can also create commands that will let the mop go back to its charging dock in case it runs out of power. Or you can also try to find out where the mop is currently cleaning in case you lose track of it somehow.
You will be able to see a mop icon in the Google Assistant device list so that it won’t be confused with the already existing robot vacuums. We look forward to what other things Google will eventually add as we aim for the smart home we see in sci-fi movies. Unless we get overrun by robots before then.
