The first robot vacuum cleaner was introduced in 1996, and now 27 years later, Dyson launches the industry’s most advanced version of it — the Dyson 360 Vis Nav™ Robot Vacuum.
Above: The new Dyson 360 Vis Nav™ Robot Vacuum.
The Dyson 360 Vis Nav™ is designed to be as functional and as smart as possible; it uses complex algorithms, visual interpretation, dust sensing capabilities, and an extremely powerful motor to do a thorough cleaning around the house. As its name implies, it has a 360-degree vision system, using a fisheye lens to map out the floor space, so the machine knows where to clean and where it’s been.
It took around an hour to map out my home floor space, and the blueprint that it produced was pretty accurate. I could then designate areas in the home (eg. kitchen, dining, etc) allowing me to schedule the vacuum to clean specific rooms when needed — all this is done through the MyDyson App (more on that below).
Above: the vacuum has a 360-degree vision system which knows where to clean and where it’s been.
For this new machine, Dyson uses a powerful Hyperdymium™ motor that spins up to 110,000rpm, and this is six times the suction power of any other robot vacuum, making it the most powerful robot vacuum ever. I don’t have any other robot vacuum to compare this to, but just looking at the dust, hair and dirt that this machine picked up on its first run, I’m convinced it’s doing a powerful job of cleaning.
And it’s not just the suction power working alone here; the machine is fitted with what Dyson calls, a triple-action brush bar that picks up large debris, attracts fine dust with its anti-static carbon fibre filaments, and really digs into carpets with stiff nylon bristles. This robot is going to easily glide from hard wood to rugs, sucking up everything in its path.
It did push some of my lighter furniture around (my empty plant pots), but I solved that by cordoning off that area with a “wall” in the floor map.
Above: there’s a triple-action brush bar that has dedicated brushes and bristles for different types of surfaces.
For sides and corners, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav™ has what the brand calls, side actuators that redirect suction to the side, so even your edges get cleaned and dust-free.
Above: side actuators don’t flick dirt away, instead they redirect suction to the side so your room gets clean from wall to wall.
So as mentioned above, one of the best things about using this vacuum is the ability to map out and designate floor spaces, and then schedule a clean (eg. late at night when everyone’s gone to bed). The app also provides cleaning reports (such as dusty hotspots in the home), and will even increase suction power at those areas. And the reports made a lot of sense; areas under the sofa and bed were extremely dirty, while general open spaces were less frightening. There’s a satisfaction in seeing the report and knowing that those hard-to-reach areas are now a lot cleaner than they’ve ever been, and then looking in the vacuum’s dust bin to see all the dirt piled up in a great big fluffy ball of grey dust. Gross but satisfying.
Above: to get the most out of your machine, the MyDyson™ app is a must to download, sync and use with the robot vacuum.
Finally, as expected with Dyson products, cleaning and maintaining the machine is easy; the bin can be emptied with one hand (just eject the dust and dirt into your trash with the press of a button), and a HEPA filter that can be washed and replaced when needed.
Above: The Dyson 360 Vis Nav™ Robot Vacuum in the home. It’s a beautiful piece of machinery and will undoubtedly serve any home well.
Dyson has really managed to set its robot vacuum apart from the competition, with a superior product that works really well, providing the convenience and functionality that you pay for. But like many nice things in life, this device doesn’t come cheap and will set you back almost $2,000, which is a fair bit more than the average price of a robot vacuum in the market today. But in this case, you will get what you pay for. As Jake Dyson, the Chief Engineer of Dyson explains:
“A robot vacuum cleaner should not be a novelty. We know there are many frustrations with current robot vacuum cleaners — some have low suction power, or inefficient navigation systems which that they often get stuck and don’t do a proper job of vacuuming. Dyson Engineers have focused on developing machines that overcome these challenges and which increasingly anticipate our needs, understand its environment and operate autonomously.”
Can this replace the traditional handheld vacuum? To a big extent, it actually can, but I’d still have a small or portable vacuum on standby to use at odd spots and on mattresses and sofas (and of course in the car). The addition of this robot vacuum will just see you manually cleaning a lot less, and will give you peace of mind that your floor is getting vacuumed while you sleep or are out for the day.
The Dyson 360 Vis Nav™ is priced at $1,999 and available on DYSON.COM and at Dyson Demo Stores.
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