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The robovac brands are going truly off-piste this year, and I am here for it.
Whether these innovations will turn out to be useful remains to be seen, but they’re certainly interesting.
The Saros Z70 can tidy up before it vacuums
And that’s because it has a big mechanical pincer arm.
I got an early, pre-CES preview, and it was pretty mesmerizing.
At this point, the main function of the arm is to tidy away your mess.
The Saros Z70 can tidy up before it vacuums
This leaves the floor clearer for more effective vacuuming.
Dreame used CES to demo a robot vacuum with a ‘Bionic Multi-Joint Robotic Arm’.
On the SwitchBotevent homepage,there’s a video showing a bot withtwoarms ending in human-looking molded hands.
Dreame is also experimenting with robotic arm technology
Robovacs that can also be fans, air purifiers, security cams…
Many of today’s top robovacs can mop as well as vacuum.
But what if that’s not enough?
This bot docks under a wheeled platform, where other appliances can be mounted
What if you want it to deliver a sandwich to your grandma?
On its own, the SwitchBot K20+ Pro looks like a regular, albeit pint-sized, robot vacuum.
However, dock it under the so-called ‘FusionPlatform’ and a whole world of possibilities opens up.
The Dreame X50 Ultra Complete has tiny legs to hoist it over steps
It’s also compatible with a fan, air purifier and security camera.
Read the full story:This robot vacuum can also bring you a sandwich
3.
Like The Doctor’s greatest foe, robot vacuums have remained cruelly bound to a single floor only.
The Roborock’s Saros 10’s central puck pops up and down like a periscope
But Dreame is going to change that.
This robovac has a navigation puck that pops up and down like a periscope.
The LDS puck has an extra ToF (time-of-flight) sensor that points upwards to detect vertical distance.
The Eureka J15 Max Ultra can see liquid spillages, even if they’re transparent
With the puck down, the 10R is just under 8cm in height.
Upon encountering carpet, the Flow will start in the usual way: driving forward and vacuuming.
I haven’t seen this approach anywhere else, and it seems to make particular sense for thick carpets.
It’s not the only carpet-focused feature to grace the Flow.
The Eureka J15 Max Ultra takes things one step further because it can see things that are invisible.
Or at least transparent.
Previous robot vacuums from this company used something called ‘IntelliView AI’ to intelligently tackle wet cleaning tasks.
However, the new IntelliView AI 2.0 is designed to recognize even transparent liquid spills.
It then knows to respond appropriately and reset the spillage.
