When someone asks for technical recommendations, we almost always answer one question. “What’s your budget?” applies to vacuum cleaners as much as anything else. You can get pretty good stuff without spending that much money. That’s the best option for most people. But those people are not from Dyson.
Dyson vacuums are pretty much a category in their own right, for people who for whatever reason need the sports car equivalent of a home appliance. I didn’t knock. I have a very intuitive memory of driving a luxury car for the first time, much like lighting up a Dyson vacuum for the first time. All of a sudden it’s like, “Oh, I get it.” Until that moment, I never thought I needed a vacuum cleaner with kickback.
This morning (at least in Singapore), the company announced improvements to its vacuum cleaners and air purifiers. The list also includes a new robot vacuum, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, which claims to have “twice the suction power of other robot vacuums.” As the name suggests, the vision/navigation system is the most interesting addition to the high-end his Roomba competitors, such as his 360-degree camera with a fisheye lens to get a better view of the room being cleaned. The company also mentions edge detection here, pointing out that the system can recognize positions within 71mm.
Image credit: Dyson
“Robotics, sensing, intelligence—all areas commonly considered ‘future technology’—have long been part of product development at Dyson,” said CTO John Churchill. say. “Our engineers have employed these technologies to reduce the cognitive burden on owners, saving time, energy and effort in maintaining a healthy home.This is a true set-and-forget Our vision for the future is homes that take care of themselves, and the new technology we are unveiling today exemplifies this.”
Just a year ago, Dyson announced it was investing heavily in robotics research, including the addition of a major lab in Singapore. The company has shown off some early concepts for home robots, but so far the robot vacuum cleaner remains the biggest player in the space.
Image credit: Dyson
As for manual vacuums, there’s the Gen5detect and Gen5outsize cordless units, which feature improved filtration systems and batteries that the company claims last up to 70 minutes on a single charge. Battery life has been a longstanding pain point for this product line. Also new are the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine and Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine vacuums with wet rollers for hard floors. The Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet formaldehyde air purifier, on the other hand, features a 360-degree tree particle filter that the company claims captures up to 99.95% of pollutants.
The Gen5detect and Gen5outsize will be available on June 6th for $949 and $1,049 respectively. For other products, dates and prices are yet to be determined.
