Robot security camera? House drone? My pet's best friend? Or just a vacuum? Either way, sign me up!
Home robot vacuum cleaners have been around for quite a while, iRobot Roomba being the one that most people think about when talking about such devices. However the market is way bigger now with more sophisticated devices and more brands to choose from, so I tried The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra. It has some serious cleaning abilities and AI chops. Maybe this is the gold standard in home automated clearing devices.
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra Spec
10,000pa Suction power, highest of any robot vacuum to date
AI Obstacle Avoidance up to 73 different object types
LIDAR Scanning
4,000 times per min scrubbing mop
20mm mop ground clearance
99.99% bacteria removal
Robot 350 x 353 x 103mm
Dock 409 x 419 x 470mm
Drainage Dock 409 x 419 x 300mm
68Db Cleaning volume
Having the ability to fully automate, you can use as a security device, and have your house very clean indeed is a fantastic combination. Roborock has really made a device I never knew I needed, now I'm obsessed with my clean floors.
When the box arrived I was surprised at the size, being a newbie to the world of home floor clearing robots I wasn't sure what to expect but WOW the box is a beast.
Upon unpacking the docking station or robot house as I dubbed it, I noticed the high level of plastics that make up the dock, the two water containers, one for clean and the other for waste. At the front is a LIDAR sensor and – and this is why we're here on Digital Camera World – a regular camera (along with various other touch sensors and a speaker and microphone, like a security camera, and a “headlight” for night time cleaning.)
Another way to look at this is somewhere between the a security camera – with all the two-way talk trimmings – and (for want of a better phase), a house drone! The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra has a really cool feature where you can control it from anywhere via the app and “pilot” the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra around your house, you can even do two way calling with it.
You can even ask “Rocky” to go find your pet while you're away, yep it knows what animals look like and will go and find them for you to say hi to.
The dock will announce that you're in viewing mode which is a good thing depending if you have people home, nobody wants to be caught in an uncompromising situation of course. Saying that, it's a nice security feature to be able to pilot this gadget around your house from anywhere you have an internet connection on your phone. Through the app you can rotate the robot side to side and forwards and back, kinda like a tank all while watching a video feed. You can also connect while it's running itself around your home cleaning too. It has no issues with connecting and handover between mesh my Orbi mesh units either.
My floors are sparkling, my cat isnt terrorized and as someone who has OCD for vacuuming the floors I'm one happy bunny. The 10,000ps suction really is a boon for carpets and after throwing crushed cereal into the rug for a test, all of it was sucked up nicely.
What's not to like?
