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The Dyson 360 Eye Vacuum: Welcome Cleaning Robot Overlord

TMCnet Feature

September 05, 2014

The Dyson 360 Eye Vacuum: Welcome Cleaning Robot Overlord

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By Steve Anderson
Contributing TMCnet Writer

The idea that robots could one day rise up and take over the world, or at least put us all out of work, is the kind of idea that starts a lot of science fiction, but doesn't exactly carry a lot of water reality-wise, at least not in the short term. But Dyson's new 360 Eye looks like it might easily do at least one of these things, and potentially even both at once thanks to its surprisingly robust—almost martial—design and staggering variety of features.


Speculation began building around a new Dyson device, reportedly, with the appearance of a mystery video in which portions of the device were shown off briefly with little in the way of explanation. But now, the announcement of the Dyson 360 Eye has confirmed quite a bit of the speculation—though not necessarily all of it by some reports—and what this thing's carrying around is impressive by any measure. An automated vacuum cleaner on line with the Roomba, only so much more so, the Dyson 360 Eye reportedly packs in a panoramic camera to generate a localization system based on visual input that is actually “sensitive into the infrared.” This lets the device build a detailed floor plan, and from there, navigate around the room, tracking its position and working accordingly, a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system that shows its true versatility.

Plus, of course, there are the treads; yes, this automated vacuum cleaner comes complete with tank-style treads to allow it better purchase in deep carpet and the like. It can even comfortably move over small obstacles, meaning that the Dyson 360 Eye will be able to operate in conditions on the ground, not in only optimized conditions, meaning users won't have to pick up before the robot housekeeper gets there, so to speak. The device was tested over the equivalent of a 670 mile run, taking on bump strips—over 342,000 of these at last report—in a 1,000 hour period.

The Dyson 360 Eye is said to be the result of 200 Dyson engineers over the last 16 years spending $47 million in development, and to call this the last word in automated vacuum cleaners might actually be an understatement. It uses a V2 Dyson electric motor and can actually separate dust from dirt to capture particles reportedly as small as 0.5 microns. It even boasts a wireless option and a degree of programming capability, so the device can actually run when its user isn't home.

However, some problems emerge here; the Dyson 360 Eye uses a brush bar with bristles, which may prove tough to clean, and the device is much taller than a Roomba, so getting under furniture will prove difficult. Plus there's the price; some are projecting a $1,650 price tag (News - Alert) for one of these. The device will come available spring 2015 in Japan, with the rest of the world to follow.

Naturally, only time will tell just how well the Dyson 360 Eye does. It will be interesting to see what kind of response grows up around those potential problems, or even if these are problems at all. Will people move furniture to accommodate a $1,650 vacuum robot just to never vacuum again? Or will the combination of the price tag and the side issues keep users out of this market? There are a lot of possibilities here, but Dyson has clearly made an impressive piece here, even if it doesn't quite work out for everyone involved.




Edited by Maurice Nagle


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