Dyson launches 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum – suction and smarts for $2399

Remember when Dyson announced a robot vacuum? I did, but that was nine years ago and it never launched here, nor many places outside of Japan. But this week a new iteration of Dyson’s robotic vacuum engineering hits the market with the Dyson 360 Vis Nav launching in Australia first.

This is a booming market, and that very fact is a big part of why we’re getting this robot.

In many ways it’s doing all the things we expect today of Robot Vacuums, but it’s also superior in many ways, but falls short in others.

At it’s core, the smarts are based around 26 advanced sensors including time-of-flight sensors for distance mapping and obstacle avoidance and an all-round camera system on top which allows it to “see” your surroundings.

This allows the Dyson 360 Vis Nav to accurately map your home, and for you to set rooms and zones as well as areas for avoidance. Unique to Dyson, the 360 Vis Nav will report back on the dust levels in any room after vacuuming so you can see where you might need to focus your clean.

The most critical selling point of this new product will be the core function – vacuuming. With Dyson’s epic electric motor technology, suction on their robot product is six times greater than any other product on the market. Bottom line, this is a legit vacuum, the brush on the front looks like any other Dyson vacuum so it’s built around that very core function.

Because of the brush head on the front, Dyson takes a different approach to the design and path of the product. It’s a D shaped robot, and uses that head like a human might to go along your walls and edges.

But without the spinning brushes poking out the sides sweeping into the suction from the edges, Dyson instead uses a small pop out suction vent to go along your wall to get the dust and debris.

It’s a high powered vacuum doing what you should be but doing it for you.

However, it does not mop – a function that has not only advanced greatly in recent years but looks set to continue to advance within other brands, and it also does not self-empty as many leading products do

Dyson’s $2,399 price tag is steep, but that’s also the price range we’re seeing from high-end Robots from other brands.

Comparatively though the Ecovacs X1 Omni is $100 more, but will self-clean the mopping pads, empty the dust bin and not need touching for weeks. As someone with hard-floors, that’s music to my ears.

Perhaps the Dyson is the obvious choice for those with more carpeted areas – and those who don’t feel current robot models are doing the job right.

Dyson’s 360 Vis Nav goes on sale this Thursday.

Web: Dyson