Skip to main content

Jeff Bezos’ kids made their own DJ Roomba with an Echo

Jeff Bezos’ kids made their own DJ Roomba with an Echo

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Jeff Bezos And John Kerry Attend Opening Ceremony For New Washington Post HQ
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

It’s often said that a fresh pair of eyes can be essential for innovation. Altogether, Jeff Bezos’ four children have eight twinkling eyes and the common sense to slap an Echo Plus on an iRobot Roomba, an invention that is more or less what analysts are expecting from Amazon next in the form of a mobile Echo robot.

In an Instagram post, dad Bezos proudly showed off his kids’ handiwork: blue painter’s tape haphazardly holding down the Echo to create an Alexa on wheels.

The Echo Plus doesn’t appear to be plugged in, but rather looks like it’s standing on a third-party battery base, which is interesting considering that Amazon currently doesn’t offer its own. There might be a good reason for that though, as Amazon is reportedly working on its first home robot, something akin to a “mobile Alexa”, Bloomberg reported in April. Alexa voice commands are already integrated into Roombas, so there’s a natural connection there as both companies try to figure out the role of robotics in the smart home.

All of this could either mean that this is Bezos’ coy way of hinting at a new product in the works, or maybe his kids are just fans of DJ Roomba from Parks and Recreation.