It’s been months since DJI first teased its very first robot vacuum, the Romo. Typically known for its selection of premium drones, the company’s first foray into the autonomous floor-cleaning market was always going to be high-end. But not even the cynical bunch at Stuff could have predicted it would be this premium.
Having just launched in Europe, there’s no telling whether the company will deem South Africa worthy of the Romo. Comprising three models — the Romo S, Romo A, and Romo P — the devices start at €1,299 (∼R26,000) and stretch as high as €1,899 (∼R38,200), placing them out of reach for many South Africans.
Wherefore art thou, Romo?
Even the Europeans might have trouble convincing their significant other that a R38,000+ robot vacuum is worth it. For those who can afford the price, they’ll get all the features you’d associate with top-shelf robo-cleaning tech. That means a self-emptying base station, mopping (and deodorising), and “millimeter-level obstacle sensing,” bolstered, of course, by artificial intelligence of the sort you’d see in the company’s drones.
DJI appears to be throwing all of its eggs into the AI basket here. It’ll supposedly use machine-learning smarts to adapt to your home — using solid-state LiDARs and “high-performance dual fisheye vision sensors,” which allow it to see everything and avoid the bits you’d rather it not tangle with, like wires or… playing cards?
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The DJI Romo P is the most impressive (and expensive) of the bunch, though it shares plenty of its best features with the rest of the crew. All three devices pack in 25,000Pa suction power, a 164ml on-board water tank for mopping, a self-cleaning station, and video cameras that owners can access remotely to check in on their furbabies. They even share 55W charging, which means they’ll be back out on the floor in 2.5 hours.
Where the Romo P deviates from its floor-sucking brethren is its fully-transparent body on both the station and vacuum, which, honestly, may not hold up after a couple of uses. It’s also got an additional compartment to hold floor deodoriser solution alongside the regular cleaning solution. It’ll even disinfect the vac’s dust bag. Whether it’s worth the extra R12,000 remains to be seen. DJI hasn’t announced plans to launch the Romo globally.
