I worked on this product back in 2002-2005. I developed the initial wheel system for this and early prototypes of their digital (switched reluctance) motor once we realised we'd need a very high power density compressor motor. Sadly the battery technology has taken a long time to get to the point where it can now give a useable run time, even when the vacuum only consumes 100W (typical cabled vacuums use 1.7-2kw). Also the prices of other components, high power embedded CPUs, cameras and sensors have reduced dramatically since then. It uses an intelligent algorithm to maximise the potential of the runtime, meaning that it tries to elminiate running over the same patch of floor more than once. This is what it uses the 360 camera for and SLAM image processing and maths that I still don't fully understand :) The chap with grey hair switching it off at the end of the teaser video[1] is the brains behind all the navigation and image processing software, Mike Aldred, very clever guy.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6ReNFlxqJc" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6ReNFlxqJc</a>
Others have commented similarly, but I just have to say that we've tried various Dysons over the years, and they always start off brilliantly. E.g., we vacuumed a nominally clean bedroom with a new Dyson upright and it was like steam-cleaning, or better, since it was dry--we pulled out a whole container's worth of dirt.<p>But then after 6 mo to a year, they start to fall apart, with (their many internal) joints not sealing, vacuum power dropping, motors failing eventually, etc., etc.<p>I don't think Dyson engineers understand nor design for long term durability.<p>We've switched to Miele vacuums and couldn't be happier.
I always thought Dyson was crap, based solely on their obnoxious ads and garish design. Then I bought my wife their cordless upright vacuum for her birthday (I know, I know, but she <i>asked</i> for it).<p>I was astonished when the vacuum became my favorite piece of tech in the whole house.<p>We have a roomba that works fine, but it's extremely hard to imagine that I won't buy this thing immediately.
> <i>Available for free on IOS and Android platforms, the Dyson Link app allows you to control and schedule how and when your Dyson 360 Eye™ robot vacuum cleans. It enables you to view maps of cleaning progress, even when you're not at home. It activates your 2 year guarantee, automatically downloads software updates and, should you ever need them, provides access to troubleshooting guides.</i><p>So… A device that’s remotely controllable (and updateable) from Dyson’s central server. With a built-in 360° camera.
I really want to know how this compares with the LG Roboking. Inevitably, all the comparisons (especially those in Dyson's own marketing) will be with Roomba, which has terrible AI, terrible suction, terrible range and hasn't significantly changed since the first version released in 2002.<p>Back in 2002, the "insect" AI was actually quite innovative, and necessary for the computing power available at the time, but it's not 2002 anymore.<p>The latest Robokings are much closer to the Dyson in terms of AI (possibly better as details on the Dyson are still a bit vague). For example, it will map out a route through multiple rooms. If it needs to recharge, it will return to its base station and pick up where it left off. Unlike the Roomba, it does not use a random pattern so it will generally achieve about 97% coverage, compared to about 75% coverage for Roomba. It will also do it in roughly half the time.<p>The Dyson will likely have better suction, but presumably it still won't be good enough to completely replace a standard vacuum, so that may not matter at all. I think the things that matter most in a robot vacuum are:<p>- Can it clean multiple rooms efficiently, recharge itself when necessary and pick up where it left off after emptying its dust compartment?<p>- How quickly can it do that?<p>- How much noise does it make when it's running?<p>- Will it avoid getting trapped on rugs, curtains, under couches, etc?<p>Ideally, it should empty its own dust compartment too. As far as I know, Karcher make the only robovac that does this and I'm not sure how it stacks up in other areas. Plus it is really, really expensive.
Automatic localization is bad.<p>This is why: <a href="https://yadi.sk/i/W5YUMQq6b2aXi" rel="nofollow">https://yadi.sk/i/W5YUMQq6b2aXi</a>
I bet they didn't consider the scenario of a cat riding their vacuum, when they located the vision sensor on the top.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of2HU3LGdbo" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of2HU3LGdbo</a>
Bit off topic which I know isn't viewed well here but down vote if my comment angers you profoundly.<p>My sister recently finished a MSc in Robotics and is looking for work in the UK for Dyson or a similar company. If anyone has worked in Dyson or a similar company (established or startup) and would be willing to discuss her options for applying in the industry and provide some guidance could you please e-mail me at hans@hans.is?
This is the first scroll to navigate page I've encountered that worked for me at all. I can see from the comments that others are not having as much luck. This new trend seems to be a horrible waste of time (for both devs and end users). I hope it goes away soon. The page is kind of cool if it works though.<p>As for Dysons, my parents are on their second one. The first one still mostly works, but a small clip in the back broke off. It will no longer stand up on its own. I have a small hand held one and it is really quite nice. They are definitely a bit fragile, but when they work they really work well.
Lots of negativity in the comments.<p>A couple questions:<p>1. For the robotics people, is the "360° eye" camera an innovation, or is this already a standard component of robotic vision?<p>2. What's the next step for robotics in the house after vacuums?
Catadioptric omnidirectional vision is a really cool technique. I've always wondered why it isn't seen in the wild more often. I first saw this technique being used in Robocup Midsize League [1]. There's lots of good papers on doing localization and object detection with a distributed system of robots with omnidirectional cameras from that league.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acrS0kPY-J8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acrS0kPY-J8</a>
If you're interested in the LIDAR in a similar autonomous vacuum, this great presentation by an engineer is a must-watch/listen:<p><a href="https://cmusv.adobeconnect.com/_a829716469/p17388090/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal" rel="nofollow">https://cmusv.adobeconnect.com/_a829716469/p17388090/?launch...</a><p>He gives examples of what the LIDAR sees, how the algorithms work, etc. in very clear yet technical knowledge.
So, the HN comments are pretty much negative. People seem to be overlooking the most important thing. A hugely successful product in this category will be the spark that launches the home robotics revolution. More players, more money invested, etc.<p>I'm really not sure why robots aren't already vacuuming our floors, raking the leaves and mowing our lawns by now.
"This unique 360° vision system uses complex mathematics, probability theory, geometry and trigonometry to map and navigate a room. So it knows where it is, where it’s been and where it’s yet to clean."<p>I hate the "Oh, why don't we use slightly complex words to make the consumers feel impressed" marketing practice. Like when shampoo ads use phrases like "advanced [made-up-word] technology."<p>Edit: That was a bit grumpier than it should have been. I haven't had coffee yet.
I expect this is a the top of HN because people are interested in hacking their Dyson robot and write some custom Anroid/iOS apps to control it? Otherwise, it's a vacuum, or is this some type of sponsored Sears post I don't know about?
Unreliable, expensive parts, poor design and now they're introducing more technology and robotics!?!<p>I've owned a few Dyson products - totally horrid. Never again. The only positive think I can say is that their service department sends out parts quickly.
Fantastically annoying page design.<p>Scrolling takes many seconds to just show the next page, with no indication that anything is happening. Just blank blackness.<p>Then each page requires you to hunt and click little circles with pluses in them, just to show a paragraph or two of copy.<p>Would it have killed them to just present all the text at once? Perhaps use tabs or some other "normal" solution to the problem of wanting to talk about different aspects of a product? This whole "scroll to begin" paradigm is so annoying, I think the fact that they felt they had to include that little helper <i>just to tell people how to get to the content</i> is an indication that perhaps a better design exists.<p>Still, I'm glad that there's a robotic vacuum cleaner with better optical bandwidth than humans. I'm sure that's a major selling point in (robotic) vacuums.<p>(Also, this is a re-post of <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8267476" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8267476</a>).
They claim that avoiding vacuuming the same area twice saves power, but is that true in every situation? Math-wise, it seems possible for a self-avoiding path (with thickness) to be _longer_ than a similar path (with thickness) that does self-intersect, so the vacuum is on longer, so it actually consumes more power.<p>Edit: And if you do go over the same spot twice, you should be able to detect that with your navigation system so that you can turn the brushes and suction off or something.