You can be as diligent as possible about scrubbing your hardware floors, but if you don’t regularly clean your mop, you’re really just spreading dirt and germs all over your home. And if you don’t clean your mop, you’re probably even less likely to clean your robot vacuum. Now one robot vacuum company, Roborock, has upgraded its flagship self-emptying robovac with a new dock that automatically scrubs the mopping head clean every time the bot docks, so it won’t spread dirt all over your home.
Although science fiction has promised us robots that will do all of our chores with minimal supervision, our current reality is much different. Robot vacuums have improved by leaps and bounds in the two decades since the Roomba was first introduced, but while they make it so you don’t have to manually vacuum your entire house, they still require occasional human intervention to empty their dirt bins and regular cleanings to ensure they can get the job done.
Advanced sensors and AI-powered imaging systems mean modern robovacs can avoid most obstacles, but to increase their autonomous capabilities, they’re now paired with elaborate docks that do more than just recharge the bots between cleanings. The dock that Roborock developed for its new S7 MaxV Ultra might be the most elaborate one yet. Unlike most robovacs, which simply suck dust and dirt up off of floors, the S7 MaxV Ultra includes a wet mopping head that leaves wood and tile floors shining after a cleaning. It also automatically retracts when the robovac is cleaning rugs and carpeted floors.
That leaves one less chore for a human to do, but mops require extra maintenance and care. Every time the S7 MaxV Ultra returns to its dock to charge, the dock sucks all the collected dust and dirt out of the bot’s onboard bin and stores it in a dust bag that only needs to be emptied every seven weeks (each home and user’s mileage will vary). The dock also refills the robovac’s mopping reservoir and scrubs the mop head clean using a mechanism that slides back and forth. It’s kind of like a car wash for your robovac, but one that also cleans the inside, which is a feature that most car owners would welcome on real-life car washes.
The dock doesn’t make the new Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra completely independent, but it does help reduce the number of times the vacuum itself needs maintenance or care. You’ll still need to occasionally refill the dock’s reservoir for the wet mop and empty its dust bag, but cleaning the cleaner won’t be as frequent a chore.
No price or availability details have been announced, which is a trend we’re seeing at CES as the supply chain continues to struggle.