Truth be told I’m a bit of a fanatic cleaner.
The kind of person who mops up a spill seconds after it’s happened, can’t stand the sight of a spot of dust on a reflective TV screen and cringes at the thought of an unmade bed in the morning.
But with a busy work schedule and social commitments, like all of us I was looking for a little bit of help getting the main deep clean of our apartment accomplished weekly, with mopping and vacuuming taking up more time on the weekend than I would like.
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Enter the help of robots, specifically one new character from ECOVACS.
The flagship DEEBOT X5 PRO OMNI vacuuming and mopping robot boasts a groundbreaking combination of AI, engineering and a unique D-shaped design to get closer to corners and walls than ever before.
From the outset this $2,499 piece of machinery is touted as having ultra-precise obstacle avoidance, powerful 12,800Pa suction, new sensor advances and fast learning capabilities — so it’s a top-of-the-line model for a reason.
New independent research conducted on behalf of ECOVACS revealed almost two out of three Australians are reporting being interested in AI-powered appliances.
Australians are embracing home robotics more than ever, with 89 per cent of Aussies saying they are open to robotic assistance versus 80 per cent in 2022, and 59 per cent are hoping to buy a robotic vacuum cleaner in the near future.
I’ve used a robot vacuum cleaner before so the concept of downloading an app to fire her up was nothing new, but if you’re new to the AI cleaning universe rest assured it’s extremely easy to set up.
We sent our robot on a fact-finding mission first to get the lay of the land, which would have been a tricky task given how much furniture is packed into each room.
Nonetheless the map took shape seamlessly, with every nook and cranny examined.
The one hiccup came in the form our laundry room, which actually sits on a slightly higher surface to the floorboards around it, so we had to ear mark it as a “step” and lift the robot into that one particular room to survey and, later, clean.
We did first test if the DEEBOT could rev enough to get over the hill that separates our laundry room from the rest of the house but try as he — or she — might, it wasn’t possible in this case.
However, it was slim enough to slide underneath our dining room table and TV console which I found extremely satisfying, mainly because not even our traditional vacuum cleaner can do that.
It turns out the D-shape on the front end paired with side brushes is what allows the robot to effortlessly clean every corner and edge, including those hard-to-reach areas under low furniture.
The DEEBOT takes on our wooden floorboards, carpets and tiles in its stride, ramping up if it encounters a slightly more plush floor style like carpet to ensure it’s actually lifting all of the dirt from the floor.
We have a couple of rugs dotted around the house too and it didn’t get caught up on any lifted sides or humps — it has the unique power to groom right over them.
Its mopping capabilities might be one of the best parts of the whole deal, though.
It employs a continuously variable mop extender, supported by multi-sensors with a 3D omni-directional collaborative algorithm for accurate distance calculation and optimal corner coverage.
Multiple sensors, such as dToF LiDAR, 3D structured light and edge sensors, help the robot keep track of irregular edges and inclined obstacles resulting in mopping pads kept consistently close to the edges of walls, chair legs and furniture.
The DEEBOT intelligently identifies significant stains like soy sauce or ketchup, adjusts its water levels accordingly and makes multiple passes over the stain, ensuring deep cleaning without manual intervention.
This includes the ability to identify the difference between complex floor patterns like marble and dirty stains to avoid misidentification. Clever, huh?
When you’ve finished mopping you can simply empty the dirty water from a tub that sits on top of the dock and pour new water into it — and let’s just say that’s a fair bit easier than trailing a bucket around the house behind you.
The robot, like all good vacuums worth their weight in gold, auto-empties after a cleaning session into a 3L dust bag so you don’t actually have to remove the dirt and debris daily — you’ll get about 90 days of storage space.
I found it really simple to control the robot using the app or the AI-powered voice command and I really do just set and forget as it whizzes around the room performing miracles.
In Australia the ECOVACS DEEBOT X5 PRO OMNI retails for $2,499.
While that’s a top of the range price tag you can easily see why it’s so pricey — the only time you’ll ever have to pick up a vacuum again is to do the tiny sections behind a door or cupboard that the robot is incapable of fitting behind.
Keep an eye out during the Black Friday sales where it’s sure to have some healthy discounts applied to it.
It is available now from Bing Lee, Amazon Australia, Harvey Noman, The Good Guys and ECOVACS Online.