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Casio’s stress-relieving furry robot is coming to the US
Gaming Gear

Casio’s stress-relieving furry robot is coming to the US

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Unlike Sony’s robotic dog Aibo that can wander around your home, Moflin can’t get around on its own. Its movements are limited to its head that can rotate from side to side and tilt up and down which the robot uses to express simulated emotions and affection. It’s designed to be held and cuddled to provide “a calming presence” and “quiet reassurance,” according to Casio. But Moflin isn’t completely silent. It can make quiet sounds that will evolve over time to feel more expressive in order to create a stronger simulated bond with you.

Moflin can also recognize individual people through their voices and responds to touch through sensors hidden beneath its fur. Using AI it will develop a unique personality over time based on how you interact with it, which will vary from person to person. Moflin can end up being cheerful and will energetically move around while making sounds, or it can become quiet, docile, and shy if the robot isn’t interacted with enough. Despite being an electronic device, Casio hasn’t included a way to reset Moflin if you don’t like the personality it develops. Like a real pet, you’ll need to responsibly care for it right from the get go.



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The Robot Vacuum's Next Humble Trick: Climbing Stairs
Gaming Gear

The Robot Vacuum’s Next Humble Trick: Climbing Stairs

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Stair-climbing robot vacuums are actually about to be a reality, sort of. That’s courtesy of a little baby trend at IFA 2025 of robot vacuums slipping into something more climbable—a little caddy that carries them upstairs when it’s time to move floors, then waits to carry them back down when they’re done. The first one we encountered was the Eufy MarsWalker.

Then, it turned out that Dreame had one, too, using almost the exact same approach, only it’s weirdly much scarier-looking. Both have a sort of Half-Life headcrab vibe, but where the MarsWalker really looks like, well, a robot meant to walk on Mars, Dreame’s version, the Cyber X, looks like it would be the nearly identical-to-the-hero villain if the two shared a 1990s Saturday morning cartoon series. Instead of the sleek stalks that the MarsWalker uses to pull itself onto stairs, the Cyber X has what can only be described as chainsaw hands—because Dreame elected to put the tank tread bits on the device’s little legs, not its body.

© Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

The two mostly work the same way; robot vacuum meets stair-climbing caddy and climbs in. They roll to the stairs and the caddy probes for the bottom step, then stretches out in front and back to roll up the stairs. There are mild differences in the execution here: while the MarsWalker doesn’t extend its little arms until it reaches the steps, the Dreame robot stands up on all fours to approach them.

© Wes Davis / Gizmodo

Getting back down the stairs seemed a bit more precarious for the Cyber X than for the MarsWalker. In the (very sped-up) GIF above and another video I saw online, it had trouble keeping itself straight, and I worried that it might go tumbling. I didn’t feel that way about the MarsWalker.

I don’t know who actually came up with the idea first, but either way, the approach seems like a winner. But there is another way, as robot vacuum and lawnmower company Mova showed me. The Mova Zeus 60, which looks like a 1980s VCR or vinyl turntable (complimentary), raised itself up on little scissor-lift legs, then slid its little body forward like a robotic tongue, drew its legs up, and slid those forward to join the rest of it on the stairs, then repeated this for each step, and in reverse on the way down.

© Wes Davis / Gizmodo

It took an agonizing six minutes to complete. One of Mova’s engineers, who was at the Mova booth, watching with me, assured me that it can go faster, but that the team decided to run it slower for safety reasons. I’ll accept that, but it would have to go quite a bit faster to catch its competition—Dreame’s robot got down and back up its stair set in close to 2.5 minutes. Eufy’s MarsWalker managed it in just 1 minute and 45 seconds. But Mova might have an advantage—according to that same engineer, it can handle spiral staircases just fine. Then again, as confident as he sounded, it would have been a great power move for the company to set up a little spiral staircase to prove it. Maybe it can do it and Mova chose not to show it off—building a spiral staircase for the show is a little more complicated than the straight up-and-down kind. Or maybe it’s not all that good at spiral staircases.

It’ll be interesting to see how these stair climbers shake out when they make it into reviewers’ grubby hands. Representatives from all three companies confirmed to me that the plan is to release their devices within the next year; none would reveal pricing. Maybe it hasn’t been decided, or they’re each just waiting to see what the other does.

However they do, none of these robots fully solve the problem. But climbing stairs is a huge first step. Or set of steps, I guess. The next task is getting them to actually clean the stairs, something the vaporware-at-this-point Ascender was supposed to do. And frankly, I don’t care. Bring me the stair-climbing robot, please.



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Is Local AI the Unexpected Fix to the Obsolescence of Robot Vacuums?
Product Reviews

Is Local AI the Unexpected Fix to the Obsolescence of Robot Vacuums?

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During a presentation at IFA 2025, Deebot parent company Ecovacs (full disclosure: travel and lodging were paid by Ecovacs, but Gizmodo did not guarantee any coverage as a condition of accepting the trip) said repeatedly that its new X11 OmniCyclone robot vacuum‘s AI smarts are all on-device. Or the bulk of them are, anyway. I returned to the booth later and spoke with a couple of the company’s representatives to try to figure out exactly how divorced from the cloud the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone truly is—is it an all-on-device experience, like the Matic robot vacuum, or does it still need an internet connection to keep its best functionality?

The Deebot X11 OmniCyclone’s promise is that it can use local AI smarts to do things like identify spills and messes on the floor and decide how best to clean them, and if mopping is required, what kind of mopping solution to use (the X11’s charging dock holds a couple of options). It can also learn from your routine, shifting and morphing its cleaning schedule and approach over time to suit your behavior.

© Wes Davis / Gizmodo

You, the owner, can talk to the AI Agent Yiko—the company’s name for its refreshed, generative AI-powered vacuum assistant—and give it some pretty broad, natural-language requests, at least according to Ecovacs. I didn’t get to test this out. I wanted to know how broad. Can you say, “Hey Yiko, only clean the bedroom on Fridays,” and it works? Ecovacs’s folks said yes. What about, “Hey Yiko, please clean up around my dining room table at 7 p.m. every night.” Yep, that’s apparently possible, too, although the rep told me you might need to name that table in the Ecovacs Home app and call it by that specific name when you speak your request. Again, I didn’t get to test any of this.

Not that it would matter if your internet went down—in that case, you’d lose a lot of functionality, according to the reps. The app would no longer work because it bounces through Ecovacs’ cloud infrastructure in the U.S. to do that. No more tapping around to tell the robot to clean specific rooms, or remotely controlling it from your smartphone, or seeing cloud-saved videos recorded while you were doing that. It also means no Yiko, because the device’s generative AI voice assistant is cloud-dependent, too.

But there’s a way to use the robot vacuum in which that doesn’t matter. There’s an “Agent Hosting” mode in the Ecovacs Home app where you can switch the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone to AI-only control, essentially putting all of your faith in it to clean your house properly. It might be able to do so, at least according to Ecovacs, which says it can recognize over 100 different categories of objects, as small as a grain of sand. If you switch it to that mode and find that it does just fine at cleaning your house, with no input from you, then you may never bother with the app again. And if that’s the case, you might never know when your internet is out or that the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone has lost its connection to your network.

That doesn’t mean the robot would be useless. Ecovacs’s reps told me that without an internet connection, the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone’s onboard AI would still do its thing, sliding its schedule around as needed, identifying messes, and switching up its cleaning approach as it goes along. I asked if the company sees a future where even the AI voice assistant is on-device, and the reps weren’t sure.

It’s not all the way to the world I want to see, where my smart home devices never need an internet connection to bring me their full feature set, or close enough to it for blues. But it is an encouraging move in that direction, assuming it all works the way Ecovacs says it will. And, with AI, that can be a big “if.”

 

 

 



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First look: Dyson’s Spot+Scrub Ai robot seeks out stains
Product Reviews

First look: Dyson’s Spot+Scrub Ai robot seeks out stains

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The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai Robot is the company’s first combination robot vacuum and mop. It debuted at Dyson’s Berlin store during the IFA tech show this week and is a follow-up to the company’s 360 VisNav robot vacuum, which launched in 2023. Featuring a new round design, a self-cleaning roller mop, lidar navigation, and Dyson’s first multifunctional dock, the Spot+Scrub also comes with an “AI” moniker because it’s 2025 and doesn’t everything?

I spent some hands-on time with Dyson’s newest robot floor cleaner and came away underwhelmed. Dyson’s traditional vacuums set high expectations, but its robot versions have yet to meet them. I didn’t get to test the Spot+Scrub or see its stain-targeting feature in action, but my time with it didn’t convince me that Dyson has finally cracked the robot vacuum code.

The headline feature is AI-powered stain detection, and despite the buzzword, this idea does appear to address one of the biggest problems with robot mops — that they don’t do as good a job as manual mops. When its onboard cameras spot stains, the Spot+Scrub can “identify, react, check, and clean,” according to Dyson, using green lasers to highlight the dirt and allow the cameras to see it better. This helps it identify the type of stain, whether it’s dry or wet, and clean it appropriately, continuing to clean it until it’s gone.

Several robot vacuum mops from companies like Narwal, iRobot, Ecovacs, and Dreame offer similar “dirt detection” features — to varying degrees of success, based on my testing. Dyson seems confident that the Spot+Scrub is superior.

In an interview at Dyson’s event this week, James Dyson, founder and chairman of Dyson, said that he thinks the current crop of robot mops “are disappointing.” “Quite a lot of stain is left on the floors,” he says. “That’s why ours is better, because we can see the stain and we go back and get it until it’s gone.”

1/4The underside of the Spot+Scrub.

Along with stain detection, the Spot can also “spot” objects like socks and cables to hopefully avoid them. Dyson has also ditched its vision-based navigation system for lidar, which I’m told should help with the navigation issues its Vis Nav had.

The other big change is that the Spot+Scrub is round, a departure from the Vis Nav’s squared-off look. It has a decent 18,000 Pa of suction power, which peaks on carpet thanks to a built-in carpet sensor. Its super long, soft microfiber roller mop tackles the wet floor cleaning, extending out to clean along edges, and a combined rubber bristle brush sits behind the mop to help get up dry dirt. The roller mop raises when it encounters carpet to avoid getting your rugs damp, but it doesn’t have the extra protection of a cover that we’ve started to see on mopping bots. Dyson didn’t share pricing, but plans to launch in China later this year and the US in 2026.

Dyson has failed to dazzle with its robot vacuums

My first impression seeing the Spot+Scrub in Dyson’s Berlin store this week was how big it is. The robot itself is about a third larger than the Vis Nav, and its dock is “hulking.” Part of the reason for that is the large roller mop it uses to wet clean. Roller mop bots are the hot new thing in robot vacuums, replacing spinning mop pads.

Ecovacs, Dreame, Eufy, and others have all rolled out roller mop models recently, the main advantage being that the mop can be cleaned while it runs, rather than having to head back to the base for a refresh. This requires a lot of onboard infrastructure, though, which is why they’re all so big. The Spot+Scrub is probably 4 inches tall (although I didn’t take out a tape measure), but there’s no lidar tower on top, so it may still make it under your couch.

The Spot+Scrub comes with Dyson’s first multifunction dock that automatically empties the robot’s bin, cleans and dries its mop, and refills and drains its water tanks. This is also very large, and while it has touches of the signature Dyson design, including some pops of red and purple, overall, neither it nor the robot itself looks that different from every other robo vac out there, which is disappointing.

The multifunction dock has three containers for dirt, clean water, and dirty water.

There’s a spot in the clean-water tank to add Dyson’s detergent.

The dust canister can be easily emptied into a bin, no bags required.

The dock’s most interesting feature is the bagless dust container that can hold 2 liters of dirt. It’s a larger version of the Vis Nav’s onboard bin. To empty it, you pull it out, place it over a trash can, press a button, and the waste dumps out. While having to potentially deal with a bit of dust spillage while emptying isn’t ideal, it’s a fair tradeoff for not needing to buy separate bags, which is what most auto-empty docks use. Ecovacs’ latest robot vacuum, the Deebot X11 OmniCyclone, which also launched at IFA this week, has a similar dustbin solution.

The Spot+Scrub works with the redesigned MyDyson app, which I got a sneak peek at. It now shows the robot’s real-time cleaning progress, thanks to the addition of lidar navigation. From the app, you can schedule the robot and choose how it cleans: either vacuum, vacuum and mop simultaneously, just mop, or vacuum then mop.

The app also shows when the robot has identified a stain that it went back to clean, so you can check its work. Connectivity-wise, Dyson tells me Matter support is planned, which would allow the Spot+Scrub to connect to smart home platforms like Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home for voice control and other features.

The Spot+Scrub uses lidar for navigation, but it doesn’t have a lidar tower on top. Its bin/filter is located in a compartment on the top. It has two physical buttons on top for control.

So far, Dyson has failed to dazzle with its robot vacuums, despite having developed them since the 1990s. It’s one thing to build the world’s best vacuum; it’s quite another to create the world’s best robotic vacuum. While its Vis Nav had impressive cleaning power, its app, navigation, and overall experience were just okay.

My initial impressions of the Spot+Scrub are that it feels quite iterative, not the game-changing product you’d expect from Dyson. But if its stain-seeking and scrubbing feature really works as advertised, and it can properly navigate my house, then I’ll be impressed. I look forward to testing it.

Photos and video by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

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The best robot vacuums we’ve tested for 2025
Gaming Gear

The best robot vacuums we’ve tested for 2025

by admin


Robot vacuums are impressive devices that will clean your floors well and — thanks to bigger batteries and better robot brains — rarely get tired of doing their job. Over the last few years, they have gone from being utilitarian devices that sweep your floor to full-fledged home robots that can vacuum and mop your home and then trundle off to clean themselves to be ready for the next run.

I’ve been testing robot vacuums for seven years and have run over 70 robot vacuums all over my house. These are my top picks if you’re looking for the best: a robot vacuum that can do it all with limited intervention from you.

Along with my top picks, I have options to fit specific needs, such as mopping or besting pet hair. The good news is that there are a lot of great options. Whether you have a 3,000-square-foot home and three shaggy dogs or a small, stylish apartment you share with a goldfish, there’s a robot vacuum to suit your needs.

$1000

With top-notch vacuuming performance, an easy-to-use app, and built-in voice control, the S8 MaxV Ultra is a superb vacuum and good mop.

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$230

Tap’s RV30 Max Plus is a robot vacuum / mop hybrid with room-specific cleaning, carpet boost, smart navigation, and an optional auto-empty dock.

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What I look for

How I test robot vacuums

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I test robot vacuums constantly. At any time, there are seven or eight of these busy little bots roaming my floors. Alongside everyday use, I put them through a gauntlet of specific tests. This includes testing object detection and avoidance with phone chargers, socks, a pencil, and fake pet poop. I throw in Cheerios or popcorn to see if they know to vacuum that up rather than avoid it. I also run them over oatmeal and flour to see how well they pick up fine debris and have them tackle both thick and low-pile carpets. I watch to see how they handle rug tassels, skinny chair legs, and room transitions.For mopping prowess, I test them on hardwood and tile floors with dried milk, fresh OJ, and ketchup. I monitor how quickly they fill up their bin / auto-empty dock and how efficiently they use water and clean their mop pads.I also set schedules, hook them up to voice assistants, and play with any advanced features in the app. I evaluate how well they map and how easy the maps are to edit and use, as well as test and unique features such as home security camera capabilities, AI cleaning programs, and auto-mop removal.

Cleaning and mopping power

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It’s not all about suction. In my testing, the brush is also a big factor in how well a robot will clean your floors. A large rubber roller brush is much better than a small bristle brush at picking up debris. It’s also less prone to getting tangled up with hair. Two brushes are better than one, and a brush housing that has some flexibility — so it can move with the contours of the floor — is also more effective.It’s hard to find a robot vac that doesn’t have some form of mopping, but not all mops are created equal. I looked for mopping bots that could get up dried-on stains, like milk and ketchup, and scrub up small wet spills without messing themselves up. Oscillating, spinning, or vibrating mop pads clean better than bots that just drag a wet rag around, but the new self-cleaning roller mops that are beginning to appear are even more effective. Auto-carpet sensing is also important since it prevents the robot from accidentally mopping your rug.

Convenience

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A big bin means you don’t need to empty it as often. The largest I’ve seen is 800ml, but anything over 500ml is decent. With many bots now pulling double duty as mopping robots, plus the popularity of self-empty dock / charging bases, it’s getting harder to find small robot vacs with big bins. But they’re worth considering — especially if you have carpets and pets. I love self-empty docks, but sometimes you don’t have space for them, and if you like your robot to be out of sight (living under your bed or sofa), you’ll want a big bin and no dock.Self-emptying docks are becoming standard now and coming down in price (thankfully). A self-empty dock turns the charging base for your robot into a motorized emptying station that sucks out the dirt from its bin. (Warning: this process can be loud!) This saves you from having to pull out the bin after every few runs and empty it yourself. Instead, you’ll have to replace the bag (and buy new ones) when it gets full, generally about once a month. Many robots now have a self-empty dock option you can add later, although buying them together is generally cheaper.

How smart they are

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Another nice-to-have feature, AI-powered obstacle detection helps your robot “intelligently” detect and avoid clutter (and a potential poop apocalypse if it encounters pet waste). These models use cameras (worth noting) to see objects in their path and onboard processors to “decide” how to approach them based on what they see. All AI is not created equal, however, and some are much better at this than others. The end result is that robot vacuums with AI detection are less likely to get stuck when cleaning, so you’re more likely to come home to a clean floor rather than a beached bot.A robot that maps your house will get into every nook and cranny better than one that bumps and rolls around. Mapping also lets you send the robot to clean specific rooms rather than the whole space and add virtual walls to prevent your bot from going where you don’t want it to. These are crucial if you have delicate objects or areas in your home that regularly trap robots. Most robots use variations on simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology, such as lidar or vSLAM.

Are they easy to use?

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A good app has easy controls to stop and start your vacuum, scheduling options (including do-not disturb hours), plus good mapping features. Nice-to-have features are room-specific cleaning and settings (so you can tell your vacuum to clean the kitchen or have it mop and vacuum the kitchen but only vacuum the living room). My biggest frustration with apps is maps that are fiddly to update and / or crash and must be rebuilt constantly. Most vacuums now have voice control (see FAQs), but some offer more in-depth control, such as telling Alexa to have the robot clean twice under the dining room table.

Good battery life and repairability

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Nearly all robot vacuums can “recharge and resume” — take themselves back to their dock when they’re low and recharge before picking up where they left off. But a vacuum with at least 120 minutes of runtime (180 is ideal) will clean the whole house in one go. If it takes too long, noisy robots that are constantly running will get shut off by annoyed family members who aren’t about to clean the room for you.Robot vacuums are quite an investment, and it’s important to be able to buy replacement parts to keep them going for longer and have access to good support in case your robot has a serious issue.

$1000

The Good

  • Excellent vacuuming performance
  • Good sonic mopping
  • Extendable side brush gets into corners better
  • Very good app

The Bad

  • Dock is still quite ugly
  • Mopping tray is hard to clean
  • Expensive

Dustbin capacity: 270ml / Self-empty dock option: Yes / Auto-refill mop option: Yes / Mop lift: Yes, 20mm / Mop washing: Hot water and heated air drying / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 10,000Pa / Remote check-in: Yes / Keep-out zones: Yes, virtual / Brush style: Dual rubber / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts, Apple Home via Matter

Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra ($1,799.99) is an exceptional vacuum cleaner and a very good mop. Its dual rubber roller brushes and 10,000Pa suction make it great on carpets; its sonic mopping is very good on hard floors, and its improved AI-powered obstacle detection means it will most likely get the job done without getting trapped or derailed.

The S8 MaxV Ultra is the best in the category of “hands-free” robot vacs, bots that do virtually everything for you: empty their bins, refill their mop tanks, and clean and dry their mop pads. Roborock invented this category with the S7 MaxV Ultra and has been steadily improving it.

The S8 MaxV Ultra brings back the RGB camera last seen on the S7 MaxV Ultra, which makes it much better at navigating obstacles.

That’s the big selling point here; this bot is basically hands-free. Fill the S8 MaxV Ultra’s clean water tank and empty its dirty water once a week and change out the dust bag every couple of months. The robot will take care of the rest.

For $100 more, you can dispense with dealing with the water tanks entirely and buy the Refill & Drainage System model. This lets you plumb the charging base directly into your home’s water supply. I’ve not tested this on the Roborock, but my experience with the SwitchBot S10 with the same feature leads me to recommend this option if you can swing it.

The S8 MaxV Ultra uses two small appendages to better get into corners and clean along edges.

The S8 MaxV Ultra comes with excellent AI-powered obstacle detection, bringing back the camera it last had on the S7 MaxV Ultra. It’s not quite as good as Roomba’s obstacle detection — it sometimes confused a pile of Cheerios for a charging cable and avoided them — but it’s much better than the Roborocks that rely on non-camera obstacle detection. It deftly navigates around most household clutter, allowing you to get the job done without having to tidy up.

Roborock has caught up to Roomba on cleaning prowess, and the S8 MaxV Ultra’s dual rubber brushes and 10,000Pa of suction power tackled the pet hair on my fluffy carpet and demolished my oatmeal test.

It also did a better job at mopping than Roomba’s mopping bots, though not quite as well as the Narwal Freo X Ultra or Dreame X40 Ultra, though it’s a better vacuum than either.

Its sonic mopping system — which vibrates its mop pad 4,000 times a minute — ably simulated scrubbing and wiped out my OJ and ketchup tests, though I did have to set it to deep scrub. Plus, the addition of a side mop and flexi-arm brush that extends from the bot helped with cleaning edges and corners.

Roborock’s mobile app is easy to use and comes with a laundry list of features and customizations that give you ample control over your cleaning. The S8 MaxV Ultra also has a built-in voice assistant, which makes getting the bot to clean the mess your kid made after dinner as easy as saying, “Rocky, clean here.”

Roborock also sells the S8 Max Ultra (no V) for $1,599.99. It has the same cleaning hardware as the MaxV but no camera, so its obstacle detection will not be as good. However, you also don’t have to worry about a camera in your house. It has a lower 8,000Pa of suction and lacks a voice assistant, too, which makes it seem overpriced since it’s currently only a couple hundred dollars less than the MaxV.

There are several great vacuum / mop hybrids in this guide. Of them, the S8 MaxV Ultra is the best at vacuuming and obstacle detection, and it’s a very good mop. It can also do both in one run, as it can lift its mop 20mm, which will clear all but the highest-pile rugs. If you have a lot of those, go for the Dreame X40, with its automatic mop removal. Its vacuuming and object detection are a notch below the Roborock’s, but its mopping is a notch above. The Narwal Freo X Ultra is an even better mop than the Dreame, but its obstacle detection isn’t great, and its vacuuming is merely pretty good.

Read my Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review.

$230

The Good

  • Cheap, even with the auto-empty dock
  • A dual mop and dustbin means no swapping
  • Room-specific cleaning
  • Carpet boost

The Bad

  • Short battery life
  • Slow to recharge
  • Docking can be spotty
  • Basic obstacle detection

Dustbin capacity: 300ml / Self-empty dock option: Yes / Auto-refill mop option: No / Mop lift: No / Mop washing: No / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: No / Suction power: 5,300Pa / Remote check-in: No / Keep-out zones: Yes, virtual / Brush style: Single rubber bristle hybrid / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts

For around $300, the Tapo RV30 Max Plus is a very capable robot vacuum and mop with some key features usually only found on vacuums that are more than twice its price. These include room-specific cleaning, multiple suction and water levels, smart lidar-based navigation, and an auto-empty dock. With brands like Roomba and Roborock, you’re often paying double for the privilege of not having to empty the bot’s bin.

The Tapo RV30 Max Plus includes a compact auto-empty charging dock.

Thanks to lidar navigation, the RV30 did an excellent job of navigating my house, cleaning the perimeters of the rooms, and then using a mesh grid to clean inside the rooms. I did have to tidy up before it ran, though, as there’s no camera on board or AI-powered obstacle detection — so cables and socks will trip it up.

Its 5,200Pa suction power is impressive on a bot at this price, and ably sucked up Cheerios and dry oatmeal on hard flooring. It left some of the finer dust and debris, as its single bristle / rubber brush isn’t super effective. It fared less well on carpet. However, in the app, I could set it to clean a room three times for each job, after which it had generally picked up all visible debris.

Mopping was better than average for a mop with no pressure or oscillation. It has a wide mop pad, and the bot has a big 300ml tank (which also incorporates a 300ml dustbin), so it applies enough water to do a good surface clean.

Another unique feature for a budget robot is the ability to set customized cleaning for each room, choosing from five suction levels and three water levels as well as the three rotations.

5,200Pa suction power is impressive on a bot at this price

The Tapo app is very simple to use, with an easy-to-edit map that lets you add virtual walls and no-go zones, add furniture, and designate carpet areas. There’s no carpet sensing, so you need to tell it where carpets are if you don’t want it to mop them. You can even set the cleaning direction and build up to four maps — again, features usually only found on higher-end robots.

It’s also super easy to start a clean, and I really like that you can just tap on the map to send the robot to that spot. The biggest downside of the Tapo is its tiny battery, which is just 2,600mAh. That is half the size of most vacs, and it couldn’t clean my entire 800-square-foot downstairs without needing to go back and recharge. It also takes a while to charge and occasionally had trouble repositioning itself on its dock. You can get the RV30 without the auto-empty dock for around $80 less if you prefer an even simpler robot vacuum setup. This way, it will fit under a couch or bed, but you’ll have to manually empty its bin.

Best mopping robot vacuum for hard floors

$550

The Good

  • The best mopping robot
  • Also good at vacuuming
  • Very quiet
  • Big water tanks mean less refilling

The Bad

  • Middling laser-based obstacle avoidance
  • Wonky app
  • Huge charging dock

Dustbin capacity: 1L / Self-empty dock option: No / Auto-refill mop option: Yes / Mop lift: Yes, 12mm / Mop washing: Yes, hot air drying / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 8,200Pa / Remote check-in: No / Keep-out zones: Yes, virtual / Brush style: Single, conical rubber bristle hybrid / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts

The Narwal Freo X Ultra is one of the best mopping robots I’ve tested — and it’s a good vacuum, too. Its spinning triangular mop pads rotate at 180RPM with 12n of downward pressure. Combined with its ability to swing slightly to get closer to baseboards, the Narwal does a very good job on hard floors. Its dual four-liter water tanks will keep you going longer than most other mopping bots as well, the majority of which feature smaller tanks.

The Narwal has some innovative features, including dirt sense — which analyzes the dirt level in the water and prompts it to remop — and an ability to adapt the pressure of its mop based on the type of floor, applying more pressure to tile and less to hardwood. “Freo” refers to the bot’s ability to make cleaning “decisions,” including going back to clean dirty floors.

Its charging dock is very big, though, giving off a real Wall-E vibe. But despite the size, there’s no spot for an auto-empty dustbin; instead, Narwal’s disposable onboard bin compresses the dust, and Narwal claims you won’t need to empty it for up to 60 days. It wasn’t close to full after two weeks of testing. A bonus here is that there’s no loud noise, as is the case with most auto-empty docks.

Its charging dock is very big, giving off a real Wall-E vibe

In fact, the Freo X Ultra is one of the quietest bots I’ve tested. Even at full power, it was so quiet that I had to check that it was working. Its anti-tangle brush and 8,200Pa suction did a good job on most carpet, but its 12mm mop lifting isn’t good for plush carpets.

The Narwal can use disposal dustbins that compress dirt, so you don’t have to empty it as often.

Narwal’s obstacle detection is also only okay; there’s no camera, and it routinely eats cables. Its three lasers can identify objects as small as a sock and move around them, and it did pass my fake pet poop test.

The app is very hard to follow, making it tricky to access all of the bot’s features. Mapping was fast, but it didn’t recognize all my rooms on the first go. It did better the second time, although splitting up rooms and naming them in the app was painful. The lack of a camera also means its navigation is spotty, and sending it to clean specific rooms wasn’t always successful. But if you’ve got a lot of hard floors to keep clean, it will do an excellent job.

Best robot vacuum / mop hybrid

$850

The Good

  • Self-removing mop pads
  • Mop extension reaches under edges
  • Self-cleaning washboard
  • Dirt detection tech

The Bad

  • Middling AI obstacle detection
  • Single rubber roller brush
  • App can be flaky

Dustbin capacity: 300ml / Self-empty dock option: Yes / Auto-refill mop option: Yes / Mop-lift: Yes, 20mm / Mop washing: Hot water, hot air drying / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 12,000Pa / Remote check-in: Yes / Keep-out zones: Yes, virtual / Brush style: Single, rubber / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts

The Dreame X40 is the best robot vacuum / mop hybrid because it can drop its mop pads automatically, extend them, and swing them to get under your cabinets and consoles. I watched the X40 spread its mops wide apart and swing behind my TV console, allowing it to access the dust wedged a good inch under it. That’s impressive.

The X40 also features an extending side brush arm to reach corners — like the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra — and its dual oscillating mop pads are more effective than Roborock’s thin microfiber pad. If you have a mix of carpeted rooms and hardwood floors with high-pile rugs, the Dreame is the best robot vacuum for you.

The Dreame X30 Ultra shows its splits.

Its signature feature is its ability to automatically remove and reattach its mop pads, depending on whether it’s vacuuming or mopping. This solves the problem of how to vacuum and mop without getting your rugs wet. The robot will do this procedure multiple times during cleaning to ensure carpets are vacuumed and floors are mopped. Genius.

While it’s a superb mopper, its vacuuming prowess is slightly behind the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra because, despite its 12,000Pa suction power, it still only has a single roller rubber brush. The Roborock’s dual rollers are simply better at getting dirt out of carpets and tackling pet hair.

If you have a mix of carpeted rooms and hardwood floors with high-pile rugs, the Dreame is the best robot vacuum for you

Roborock’s app is also more stable and easier to use than Dreame’s, which often crashes and can take a while to load. While the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is my top pick overall, the Dreame X40 is a very good vacuum, and the two companies are neck and neck regarding innovative features.

The X40 can also clean its washboard, something the Roborock can’t. That area can get quite grungy, so it needs a cleaning every few weeks. The X40 has AI-powered smart dirt detection that uses its cameras to identify spills like milk or particularly dirty areas. When it spots something, it will slow down and do a more thorough cleaning. I also like Dreame’s option to vacuum first and then mop, which the Roborock doesn’t offer.

The X40 has AI-powered obstacle detection, although Roborock’s is just a bit better. However, both still get tripped up occasionally by pencils and other small items — something that never happens with the Roombas with this feature.

Best midrange robot vacuum / mop

$550

The Good

  • Good AI-powered obstacle detection
  • Effective mopping
  • Excellent value
  • Nice dock

The Bad

  • Single rubber / bristle brush
  • Lower suction power
  • No heated mop washing
  • Some navigation issues

Dustbin capacity: Unknown / Self-empty dock option: Yes / Auto-refill mop option: Yes / Mop lift: Yes, 12mm / Mop washing: Yes, hot air drying / Mapping: Yes, lidar / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: 8,000Pa / Remote check-in: No / Keep-out zones: Yes, virtual / Brush style: Single rubber / bristle hybrid / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home

The Eufy X10 Pro Omni combines the Eufy Clean X9 Pro mopping robot vacuum and the Eufy X8 Pro self-empty robot vacuum. It’s the first Eufy with a multifunction auto-empty / wash / fill dock, and unlike many bots in this price range, it comes with AI-powered obstacle detection.

With 8,000Pa suction and oscillating dual spinning brushes for mopping, the X10 has all the same functions as the top-of-the-line, all-in-one bots — but it’s not quite as good at any of them. Which is sort of the definition of “midrange.”

The X10 has all the same functions as the top-of-the-line, all-in-one bots — but it’s not quite as good at any of them

The Eufy performed excellently in my mopping tests, even eradicating dried stains with its 1kg of downward pressure. Thanks to an onboard water reservoir, it didn’t have to head home to fill up as frequently as some mopping bots do. It also has heated mop drying to help prevent the base from getting stinky — a first in this price range. (There’s no hot water washing.)

An edge-hugging mode makes the robot swing its behind into the baseboards to help mop edges. With its square-ish shape, it got into corners better than most of the round bots. But its 12mm mop pad lift over carpet wasn’t effective, resulting in its pads getting hung up in a few places.

The Eufy uses a single rubber / bristle roller brush that isn’t as good as top-of-the-line Roombas and Roborocks.

The X10 has great object recognition, allowing it to suck up Cheerios and piles of oatmeal while deftly navigating fake dog turds and cables. However, its navigation sometimes got screwy; it would go into a corner and stay there for a while, trying to figure itself out.

While its vacuuming is good, particularly on carpet and tile surfaces, the single rubber / bristle roller brush lets it down and is a good illustration of my point that it’s not all about suction power; it’s also about the brushes and how you use them. The Eufy’s brush is supposedly anti-tangle — a cutting tool inside the robot should shred the hair — but this wasn’t effective.

The Eufy Clean app is very easy to use, and the lidar-powered mapping was fast and accurate, dividing my rooms correctly on the first try. There are many customization options — including room-specific cleaning, zone cleaning, and customized cleaning — but the app is clear and well laid out.

Best robot vacuum for pet hair

$599

The Good

  • Excellent vacuuming
  • Superior AI obstacle detection
  • Smart scrub feature works well
  • Attractive dock that doubles as a table

The Bad

  • Small mop pad
  • Limited cleaning customization
  • Mapping can take a long time
  • Navigation can be buggy

Dustbin capacity: 250 ml / Self-empty dock option: Yes / Auto-refill mop option: Yes / Mop lift: Yes, up and over / Mop washing: Yes / Mapping: Yes, vSLAM / AI-powered obstacle detection: Yes / Suction power: N/A / Remote check-in: No / Keep-out zones: Yes, virtual / Brush style: Dual rubber / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri Shortcuts, Apple Home via the Matter protocol.

While Roombas may have fallen behind the competition in terms of features and innovation, there’s one area in which they reign supreme, and that’s cleaning prowess. Their dual rubber roller brushes rotate in opposite directions to effectively dig up dirt from carpets, and they are by far the best at tackling pet hair on all surfaces. They are also one of the most self-repairable robot vacuums you can buy, with spare parts for most of the bot’s bits readily available.

The newest model, the Combo 10 Max, is the best Roomba for pet hair as it ties for the highest suction power of the current Roomba line, plus it can clean its own mop. It also has top-notch AI-powered obstacle detection that is able to tell the difference between pet poop and a pile of popcorn (and vacuum up one while avoiding the other).

While its mopping isn’t great — the pad is tiny, and there’s no swinging to get along baseboards — it does a decent job, and its retractable mopping system is handy if you have a lot of carpets. All of this makes the Combo 10 Max a great buy for pet parents who are in a daily battle with shedding and occasional muddy paw prints.

The Combo has a redesigned dock that’s very large — to accommodate two water tanks and a dust bag — but it doubles as a table.

The Combo is the first Roomba with a multifunction dock that can refill its mopping tank and self-wash its mopping pad, meaning less hands-on time for you. (The j9 Combo Plus has the same suction power and can refill its mopping tank but can’t wash the mop pad.) The SmartScrub feature that tells the robot to wiggle its butt to scrub your floors works surprisingly well, but it’s really only effective on small areas, making it good to run in hallways and around pet bowls for an extra clean.

The Dirt Detect feature remembers the dirtiest rooms, actively seeking out spots my hairy Wirehaired Pointing Griffon hangs out

The Dirt Detect feature remembers the dirtiest rooms, and I found that meant it actively seeks out the spots my hairy Wirehaired Pointing Griffon hangs out. The 10 Max can also be set to mop only, which is a new option and is handy for deep cleans. But there’s no hot water washing or hot air drying of the mop as there is on similar Dreame and Roborock models, so you’ll want to throw the pad in the washing machine every now and then.

iRobot’s app is also a bit of a pain point. While I appreciate its simplicity, I miss the deeper cleaning customization options that most other high-end robot vacuum apps offer. And it’s recently started popping up ads for Roomba products when I navigate between screens — which is one of the features I did not want to see migrate over from the competition.

The mopping pad is barely there.

While its mapping is very good, it can take a really long time (Roombas use vSLAM, not lidar), and it doesn’t seem to adapt to changes in my home as easily as other robots. (It also doesn’t lose my maps as often as other robots.) I’ve also noticed that the newer Roombas (j9 and 10 Max) suffer from the occasional navigation glitches, occasionally getting confused and needing to be rebooted.

I really like Roomba’s dock design, which, while large enough to accommodate two rather small water tanks, is the most stylish of all the multifunction docks. Plus, because you access the water tanks from the front rather than the top (as on most other models), it can be used as a table. That’s a small quality-of-life upgrade I enjoy.

Overall, it’s a good-looking robot that vacuums really well and is smart enough to get the job done with limited intervention. If you’re not interested in mopping at all, however, save some money and get the Roomba j9 Plus. It has similar cleaning prowess, a self-empty dock, and no messing with mopping.

Other robot vacuums to consider

Dyson’s newest robovac claims to have double the suction power of any other robot vacuum.

  • The 360 Vis Nav ($499.99 $999.99), Dyson’s first robovac in the US in almost a decade, is a powerful beast and the best robot vacuum for carpets I’ve tested. But its navigation needs a lot of work. If you have a simple floor plan with a lot of carpets, it is worth considering, but the short battery life and lack of an auto-empty dock are major cons. Read more in this hands-on.
  • The Roomba j7 ($599.99) is a previous top pick that has great AI-powered obstacle detection, excellent navigation skills, and superior cleaning power. It can be a bit rough with furniture, but it is aggressive at getting your floors clean and is a great vacuum-only Roomba.
  • The Dreame X30 Ultra ($599.98 $899.99) is the older version of my top pick for a vacuum / mop hybrid and is a great buy if you can get it on sale. It does most everything the X40 Ultra does, just with lower suction power (8,3000Pa) and no flexi-arm.
  • The Roborock Q8 Max Plus ($379.99 $659.99) is the bigger brother to the Q5 Pro (my pick for pet hair in my budget robot vacuum guide), adding better obstacle detection (still no camera) and better mopping. However, it has a smaller bin to make way for a much bigger water reservoir for mopping (350ml). If you like the idea of the Q5 Pro but want better mopping, this is a good option.
  • The Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 ($399.99 $699.99) was my previous runner-up pick for a midrange option that self-empties its bin, vacuums, and mops. It mops very well, but you have to manually fill and attach the mop reservoir and empty the bin.

What I’m testing and what’s coming next

Robot vacuum testing involves all members of my household.

  • Roborock’s Saros 10 ($1,299.99 $1,599.99) and 10R ($1,599.99) are upgrades to the S8 MaxV Ultra. Both can automatically remove their mop pads when not needed — a new option for Roborock — and feature an AdaptLift chassis to climb high room transitions. The 10R features 19,000Pa suction power, StarSight 2.0 navigation, and oscillating mops. The Saros 10 has 22,000Pa of suction power, lidar navigation, and the vibrating flat mopping pad of the S8 MaxV.
  • Roborock also recently released the Saros Z70 ($2,599), which is the first mass-produced robovac to feature a robotic arm that can pick up objects like socks and tissues. The arm itself isn’t particularly reliable, but the Z70 still functions as an excellent robot vacuum with 22,000Pa suction power, support for Roborock’s StarSight navigation system, and an AdaptLift chassis. Read our review.
  • In March, iRobot announced a new Roomba lineup that starts at $299 and goes up to $999. All of the robovacs come with lidar navigation and mapping, 7,000Pa suction power, and four suction levels. The pricier 405 and 505 models are the first Roombas to feature dual spinning mopping pads, while the 505 also offers heated mop drying, which is something even the higher-end Combo 10 Max lacks.
  • In April, iRobot also introduced the Roomba Max 705 ($599 $899.99), which comes with an auto-empty dock. The Matter-compatible robovac brings back iRobot’s dual rubber roller brushes, which, based on our previous testing, do an excellent job of picking up pet hair; the 705 also features AI-powered obstacle detection, lidar navigation, and 13,000Pa of suction — the most of any Roomba to date.
  • iRobot recently released the Roomba Max 705 Combo ($1,299.99), an upgraded version of the Roomba Max 705. The step-up model comes with a new self-deploying mop cover to protect carpets from getting wet, along with an extendable mop that cleans corners and wall edges for a more thorough clean.
  • The new Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni E28 ($799.99 with code WS24T2352111 $999.99) is a self-emptying, self-refilling, and self-washing robot vacuum / mop hybrid. The vac comes with a deep cleaner integrated into the charging dock, which you can use to spray clean water on stains before sucking everything into a separate wastewater tank. It’s also powerful, boasting up to 20,000Pa of suction power, and offers AI-powered obstacle detection and Matter support.
  • The Dreame X50 Ultra ($1,259.99 $1,699.99) adds a “motorized swing arm” that acts like a leg, allowing the robovac to climb a transition up to 6cm tall. Otherwise, it’s a lot like the X40 Ultra, only with higher suction power.
  • The Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni ($899.99 $1,399.99) is the first Deebot with a roller mop. It features an extendable mop that can clean itself, boasts 18,000Pa of suction power, and comes with a redesigned auto-empty fill dock.
  • The Switchbot K10 Plus Pro Combo ($379.99 with on-page coupon 399.99) is an upgrade to the compact K10 Plus, a previous pick for the best robot vacuum for small spaces. It has better obstacle detection and a bump up to 3,000Pa of suction power. Plus, its auto-empty dock incorporates a manual stick vacuum.
  • The Switchbot S20 robot vacuum / mop hybrid ($640 with code SLOD20 $799.99), which looks like the Switchbot S20 Pro announced at CES, launched in early August. It features an extendable roller mop and side brush, as well as 15,000Pa of suction power, which is more than twice that of our previous pick for the best mopping vacuum (the last-gen S10).
  • SharkNinja’s PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro 2-in-1 robot vacuum / mop ($699.99 $999.99) can lift itself over rugs by up to 20mm. Uniquely, its automatic empty /wash / dry cleaning station doesn’t require bags.
  • Roborock’s Qrevo Curv ($1,099.99 $1,599.99) can raise itself to clear thresholds up to 40mm. The svelte-looking bot gets its name from a curved FlexiArm Arc side brush, which helps prevent hair from tangling as much.
  • Narwal’s Freo Z Ultra ($949.99 with on-page coupon $1,499.99) is an upgrade to my current pick for the best mopping bot. It features dual cameras and dual AI chips for seeing and identifying objects, which should help with obstacle detection and vacuuming methods.
  • The Eufy S1 Pro ($949.99 with on-page coupon $1,499.99) has a long roller mop that self-cleans as it mops and features a square-ish design that allows it to get into corners more easily. A single rubber roller brush, 8,000Pa of suction, and 3D-powered obstacle detection tackle the vacuuming.
  • The Matic is a $1,095 robot vacuum that doesn’t need a cloud connection and uses cameras to navigate. It’s also the first robovac mop I’ve seen that can suck up wet spills as well as dry ones. Here’s some video of it in action.

Robot vacuum FAQ

Does suction power matter in robot vacuums?

Collapse

Suction power is measured in pascals (Pa), and while most vacuums offer between 5,000 and 8,000, we’re starting to see robots with 18,000 and even 22,000Pa. Higher suction power will do a better job getting the fine dust and debris off your floor, but it’s important that it’s paired with effective brushes. The real key to a clean floor with a robot vac is consistency. Run it daily if you can; it won’t keep up as well if it only runs once a week. If you want hands-free cleaning everywhere, you’ll want to budget for one per floor or be prepared to move it around. You can also buy extra charging bases, and most models can map multiple floors.

Do all robot vacuums work with voice control?

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Yes, every Wi-Fi-connected robot vacuum worth its salt today works with Alexa or Google smart speakers for voice control. However, some are limited to stop, start, pause, and maybe suction level, whereas others can be told to go clean specific areas. Here’s how to set up a bot with Alexa voice control or Google Home voice control. A couple of manufacturers now also work with Siri Shortcuts, so you can use Apple’s Siri voice assistant to command your bot. Robot vacuums are now part of Matter, meaning more opportunities for smart home integration and native Siri voice control for robot vacuums.

Which robot vacuums will work with Matter?

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Matter is a new smart home standard that allows connected gadgets to work with any smart home platform, including Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings. When connected to your smart home platform through Matter, you should be able to control basic robot actions including start / stop and changing cleaning modes, as well as get alerts directly in the app, meaning you won’t need to use the manufacturer’s app for these functions.The latest Matter spec, Matter 1.4, adds support for cleaning specific areas, so while you will still need the manufacturer app to set up a map, you will be able to use your smart home platform app and / or voice assistant to direct the robot to do things like clean the kitchen or clean downstairs. Samsung SmartThings and Amazon both support robot vacuums in Matter; Apple added it to iOS 18.4, and Google said support is coming soon.While Amazon Alexa and Google Home have supported robot vacuums for years via the cloud, Matter will bring this control locally. It will also bring support to Apple Home for the first time, allowing you to control them with Siri through HomePods and add them to scenes and automation.There are still relatively few robot vacuums that support Matter. As of September 2025, that list includes:Ecovacs X8 Pro OmniEcovacs Deebot X2 ComboSwitchBot S20SwitchBot S10SwitchBot K10 Pro PlusSwitchBot K10 PlusDreame X50 UltraDreame X40 UltraRoborock Saros 10 and 10RRoborock Saros Z70Roborock S8 MaxV UltraRoomba Combo 10

Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Update, September 5th: Adjusted pricing / availability. Sheena Vasani also contributed to this post.

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This robot lawnmower is designed to pick fruit and throw your dog a ball
Gaming Gear

This robot lawnmower is designed to pick fruit and throw your dog a ball

by admin


Plenty of autonomous lawnmowers have been showcased or introduced at this year’s IFA event in Berlin, but only one of them comes equipped with a robotic arm. NexLawn, a sub-brand of MOVA that sits under its Dreame parent company, has announced the Master X Series Concept, which it describes as “the first robotic mower with a fully functional mechanical arm.”

That arm is designed to help reduce the amount of manual maintenance that’s required for people who own and run robot lawnmowers, such as picking up any fallen sticks or debris that could damage the bot or force it to navigate around the obstacle. The arm folds down to 44.5 cm (about 17.5 inches) in length, extends up to 77 cm (a little over 30 inches), and can reach as far as one meter away when performing outdoor tasks. NexLawn says it features multiple interchangeable arm attachments, including a multi-gripper, a trimmer head, and an edging disc head, with more in development.

The Master X Series Concept is capable of “trimming, weeding, fruit picking, and even pet interaction,” according to NexLawn’s press release. A 3D animated video demo shows the mower throwing a ball for a dog, for example, though it’s hard to picture a pooch that would engage positively with such a visibly not human-looking device.

The inclusion of “Concept” in its name indicates that this isn’t a consumer-ready product you can actually go out and buy, but some concept products do eventually evolve into something tangible. NexLawn hasn’t mentioned a price or release timeline, however, so any potential launch will likely be a ways off.



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Segway Navimow X350 on reviewer's lawn
Product Reviews

Segway Navimow X3 Series robot mower review: ultra-speedy, super-accurate and a dream to control

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Segway Navimow X3 Series: two-minute review

The Segway Navimow X3 Series robot lawn mowers are built specifically for sizeable lawns. And when I say sizeable, I mean sizeable – the range covers lawns from 0.5 acres / 1,500 square meters right up to a massive 2.5 acres / 10,000 square meters. To make them suitable for such vast spaces, these bots are designed to operate quickly, efficiently and accurately, with batteries capacious enough to allow for long mowing periods, without having to make the arduous journey back to the dock to recharge.

To see if this lawnbot could deliver on these promises, I sought out the largest yard I knew of. The lawn at my sister’s home, measures around 1,000 square meters / 0.25 acre (although Segway sent me the X350, which is designed for even larger areas still). The first thing I was struck by is the speed of the mower. It rolls along at quite the pace, navigating with confidence, even when traversing under trees.

The lawnbot itself is really quite large (and the same size as the other X3 Series models), but if you have a lawn big enough to need one, that’s not going to matter so much. It feels solid and high quality, with a friendly orange and grey color scheme and slightly retro-feeling dot-matrix screen to provide key information.

(Image credit: Future)

A big reason as to why the experience of using the Segway Navimow X3 Series is so enjoyable is down to the design of the companion app. It’s intuitive to use, walking you clearly through all the steps required to complete each process, and providing background information – rather than leaving you to figure things out by yourself. There are plenty of setting options to explore, and planning a schedule is straightforward.

In terms of performance, I had no issues. Throughout the test period, the bot behaved exactly as I’d hoped, mowing neatly and within boundaries, taking a logical route and never missing any spots. It also reliably avoided medium (soccer ball-sized) obstacles, although it did mow over a satsuma-sized ball (understandable, given it was sitting below camera height). Since this bot is two-wheel drive rather than four-wheel, it might struggle with especially rough terrain; but for the average yard, it will be absolutely fine.

Overall, a very strong recommendation for those looking for an efficient, fuss-free mower to take care of larger lawns. That’s the short version; read on for my full Segway Navimow X3 Series review.

Segway Navimow X3 review: price & availability

  • List price: from $2,299 / £2,199
  • Available: US, UK, AU
  • Launched: Spring 2025

The Segway Navimow X3 Series was unveiled in spring 2025, and is available to buy in various countries including the US, UK and Australia. You can only purchase direct from Segway Navimow in the US, and in general these lawnbots aren’t stocked widely online (you won’t be adding one to your Amazon Prime order). Instead, you might need to check the Segway Navimow site for distributors local to you.

When it comes to pricing, brace yourself: the Segway Navimow X3 Series doesn’t come cheap. The cheapest in the lineup costs $2,299 / £2,199 at list price, and the priciest is $4,999 / £4,299. That’s a significant investment, and if you don’t have a large yard – or a yearning for ultra-speedy mowing – there are plenty more affordable alternatives. However, for those in need of large-scale mowing, the Navimow’s pricing isn’t too far away from what you’d pay elsewhere on the market.

Let’s say you want something for a 1-acre / 3,000m² lawn. The Mammotion LUBA 2 AWD 3000 costs $2,499 / £2,549 at list price, and the Navimow X330 is $2,799 / £2,599. The LUBA 2 has slightly more advanced features all round, including all-wheel drive and two cutting decks, which makes it a better-value buy at full price. Nevertheless, both are excellent, advanced, high-quality lawnbots.

Overall, my experience with the Navimow X3 series was extremely positive, and it felt well built and thoughtfully designed, so I think for large lawns it’s worth the investment.

  • Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Segway Navimow X3 specs

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Segway Navimow X350 (reviewed)

Segway Navimow X315 (cheapest)

Recommended lawn size:

1.5 acres / 5,000m²

0.5 acre / 1,500㎡

Cutting width:

9.3in / 23.7cm

9.3in / 23.7cm

Cutting height:

0.8-2.8in / 2-7cm

0.8-2.8in / 2-7cm

Drivetrain:

2-wheel drive

2-wheel drive

Incline ability:

50% / 27 degrees

50% / 27 degrees

Waterproof:

IP66

IP66

Lawnbot size (L x W x H):

27.5 x 21.7 x 12.1in / 69.8 x 55 x 30.7cm

27.5 x 21.7 x 12.1in / 69.8 x 55 x 30.7cm

Lawnbot weight:

43.7 lbs / 19.8kg

43.2 lbs / 19.6kg

Charge time:

80 mins

60 mins

Mowing time per charge:

200 mins

120 mins

Cutting blades:

6

6

Segway Navimow X3 review: design

  • Available in versions with different batteries for different lawn sizes
  • On-bot info via a screen, and cameras on three sides for obstacle avoidance
  • Comes with RTK receiver (option to add a second) and charge station

The Segway Navimow X3 Series is a big bot for big lawns. There are a few options in the lineup, all of which are identical in design and specs, except the ones at the top end of the range have a bigger battery and as such are suitable for larger areas. These are the options:

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Model

Recommended mowing area

Runtime per charge

Charge time

X315

0.5 acre / 1,500m²

120 mins

60 mins

X330

1 acre / 3,000m²

160 mins

65 mins

X350 (tested)

1.5 acres / 5,000m²

200 mins

80 mins

X390

2.5 acres 10,000m²

240 mins

100 mins

Moving on to the lawnbot itself, and the brand has opted for a friendly look, with a dark gray and bright orange color scheme, and a dot matrix screen to provide key information in real time. On test I found this limited in its practical usefulness, although it is quite fun. There are physical buttons for Go, On/OK and Return to charge, plus a big emergency stop button. However, for the most part you’ll be controlling the bot via the companion app, which I’ll cover in detail in a separate App section below (there’s also support for voice control via Alexa or Google Home, if you prefer).

(Image credit: Future)

The Navimow X350 is rather large, and for the times you might need to manually maneuver it, Segway has added a big handle around the rear of the bot. Unfortunately, there’s no grip area at the front – so unless you stick your hand in the charge slot, which goes against an important lesson I learned as a toddler, you’ll need to make do with crouching and dragging rather than picking it up.

It’s fairly common for modern lawnbots to come equipped with a camera for object identification and avoidance, but the X3 Series has not one, but three: one at the front and one on either side, delivering a 300-degree field of view. Alongside one of the side-mounted cameras you’ll find an Expansion Bay section, where you can attach add-ons. There’s an edge trimmer attachment that already exists in a few countries (I didn’t test this), and open API access means if you have the skills, you can create your own additions.

Also hidden somewhere on the top is a compartment for a tracker, should you wish to add one for added security reasons (there’s also an out-of-bounds alarm, lift alerts and GPS tracking to guard against theft).

(Image credit: Future)

There are two main wheels, plus two smaller wheels at the front. Since this bot is a two-wheel drive machine, it isn’t designed for very uneven terrain, although it can still handle slopes up to 50%, and will be more than up to handling the average yard (or football field).

Flip it over and you’ll find the cutting deck, which consists of six blades mounted on a rotating disc, which can be raised or lowered automatically via the app (it can cut at heights of 0.8-2.8in / 2-7cm). The whole thing is designed to avoid the mechanism becoming clogged up with cuttings. Like most lawnbots, there’s no grass collection here – instead you’re meant to use it regularly enough that the tiny cuttings end up mulching back into the lawn. The Navimow delivers a generous cutting width of 9.3in / 23.7cm.

(Image credit: Future)

Additional components

The X3 Series is at least partially reliant on satellites for navigation, so in the box you also get an RTK receiver to improve the accuracy of the satellite information. You’ll need to find a good spot for this – ideally it needs to sit somewhere high up, with a wide, uninterrupted view of the sky. Since I was only borrowing this machine, I just stuck it on the provided lawn-mount spike, and it worked remarkably well even in this sub-optimal position, as you’ll learn in the Performance section. You can purchase a secondary antenna to act as backup if you have an especially large lawn.

(Image credit: Future)

You’re also provided with a charge station, where your lawnbot will return to juice up. This needs to sit on flat ground, with access to a power source.

The lawnbot is IP66 rated, which means it’s resistant to both water (everything apart from complete submersion) and dust. Even so, I tend to think a plastic garage roof is a good idea for a little extra protection from the elements in the long term.

(Image credit: Future)

Features

Let’s look quickly at what’s going on under the hood. Like most modern lawnbots, the X3 Series doesn’t require boundary wires, but instead uses a combination of RTK satellite navigation, cameras and sensors to find its way around (here’s more on how lawnbots navigate, if you’re interested).

To ensure the bot always knows where it is, even when being used on a palatial lawn, Segway has introduced a number of navigation upgrades. The RTK system has been improved and can apparently deliver 40% better observation, to keep it moving in potential blind spots such as narrow pathways or under rooftops.

(Image credit: Future)

Inside, two complementary wayfinding systems work together to help the bot find its way about: VSLAM, which relies on recognizable visual cues; and VIO, which is great for new, featureless areas. All of that, added to the wide field of view provided by the three onboard cameras, should mean this bot is an absolute pro when it comes to navigation.

Segway Navimow X3 review: performance

  • Neat, thorough and very speedy mowing
  • Confident, accurate navigation, even under trees
  • Strong obstacle avoidance, although can’t spot very small items

Let’s start with setup, which I found fairly painless. There’s a bit of self-assembly required of the base station and RTK receiver, but if you hook up the app first then it walks you through the process quite clearly (there’s also a paper instruction booklet, if you prefer). The app also guides you through the mapping process.

My test lawn has unclear boundaries and tree coverage, so I opted to create a map manually, by remote-controlling around the perimeter of the area I wanted mowing and then editing the results in-app. I found the process straightforward. If you have a very simple lawn, you’d use AI Assist Mapping, where the bot will automatically map the area for you.

The first thing I was struck by when I started mowing was how speedy the Navimow proved. I was promised efficiency, and the Segway Navimow has delivered. The X3 rolls confidently along at an impressive pace compared to other bots I’ve tested.

I mostly used the Standard speed for my tests, but bumped it up to Efficient at one point but couldn’t really notice a difference. The app states that it’s 0.2m/s faster in this mode, which would be noticeable over time if you were mowing an especially large lawn.

(Image credit: Future)

I was also very impressed by navigation. My test lawn has a number of large trees, which I thought might cause the X3 to get lost – especially given the RTK receiver was just stuck in the ground, rather than elevated above the trees and buildings, as it really should be. However, all the test-runs were free of issues. The bot made its way around confidently, covering the full lawn in a logical pattern. It also accurately avoided a no-mow zone I’d set up in the center of the lawn, on a patch of ground that had recently been re-sown with grass seed. I guess whatever Segway Navimow has done to “improve the RTK performance by 40%” has worked.

(Image credit: Future)

I also ran a couple of specific object avoidance tests by placing large (a toddler’s ride-on car), medium (soccer ball) and small (a tangerine-sized ball) obstacles in the X3’s path. It had no issues spotting the car or football, duly skirting around each one, even when I kicked the football about to try to confuse it, but the smallest ball met a grizzly end beneath the X3’s blades.

We’ve yet to test a lawnbot at TechRadar that can spot small obstacles such as this, so it isn’t a particular failing on Segway Navimow’s part. However, it’s worth noting if you have, for example, a dog that likes to poo in your yard, and you don’t want to spend an afternoon cleaning it out of wheel crevices.

  • Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Segway Navimow X3 review: app

  • Lots of useful explanations and info, with diagrams
  • Plenty of fine-adjustment options
  • Well laid out and easy to navigate

From the off, I was super-impressed with the Segway Navimow app. It provides plenty of information and clear explanations – often with diagrams – to walk you through everything from setup to how to map. Other lawnbot apps I’ve tested use opaque language and leave you to mostly figure things out for yourself, which can be especially confusing if it’s your first robot lawn mower.

(Image credit: Segway Navimow / Future)

Here, however, everything is logically laid out and easy to navigate. There are also plenty of options to fine-tune your mowing. There’s a straightforward schedule-maker, where you can select days, times and zones for cutting. You can also choose between three mowing speeds (Quiet, Standard and Efficient) and grass length (20-70mm, in increments of 5mm).

(Image credit: Segway Navimow / Future)

There’s a section for Map management, where you can split, add or remove sections, or add no-go zones (or, as Segway Navimow whimsically calls them, “BioLife Islands”). It will let you select where you want to start on the map, with the bot cleverly driving itself over to your chosen spot, and then the app will guide you to drive the new boundary line using remote control. I found this process straightforward and logical – again, not always a given.

Segway Navimow also offers a range of “Advanced” features, too. There’s an “Animal friendly” mode that will see the bot stop if it spots an animal and take a new route so as not to disturb it, rather than just skirting around it. You can also toggle on “Traction control” for particularly muddy or challenging terrain.

Should you buy the Segway Navimow X3 Series?

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value

Very much a premium lawnbot, but performance and features help justify the investment.

4 / 5

Design

Rather large, well-built lawnbot with RTK station and charge dock. Two-wheel drive and cameras to the front and both sides, plus a dot matrix screen on the bot itself.

5 / 5

Performance

Neat, fast, efficient mowing. Confident navigation even in challenging conditions, and solid obstacle avoidance (bar very small objects).

4.5 / 5

App

Extremely usable and well designed, with plenty of useful, clear information.

5 / 5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Segway Navimow X3 review: alternatives to consider

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Segway Navimow X330

Mammotion Luba 2 3000

Mammotion Yuka Mini S (US) / Yuka Mini 600 (UK)

Recommended lawn size:

1 acre / 3,000m²

1 acre / 3,000m²

0.15 acres / 600㎡

Cutting width:

9.3in / 23.7cm

15.7in / 40cm

7.5in / 19cm

Cutting height:

0.8-2.8in / 2-7cm

1-2.7in / 2.5-7cm

0.8-2.4in / 2-6cm

Drivetrain:

Two-wheel drive

All-wheel drive

Two-wheel drive

Incline ability:

50% / 27 degrees

80% / 38 degrees

50% / 27 degrees

Waterproof:

IP66

IPX6

IPX6

Lawnbot size (L x W x H):

27.5 x 21.7 x 12.1in / 69.8 x 55 x 30.7cm

27.2 x 20.2 x 27.3in / 69 x 51.3 x 27.3cm

20.7 x 16.3 x 11.1in / 52.5 x 41.3 x 28.1cm

Lawnbot weight:

43.7 lbs / 19.8kg

41 lbs / 18.6kg

23.4 lbs / 10.6kg

Charge time:

65 mins

120 mins

90 mins

Mowing time per charge:

160 mins

190 mins

55 mins

Cutting blades:

6

12

5

How I tested the Segway Navimow X3

I tested the X350 model of the Segway Navimow X3 Series. I used it for several weeks in the garden of my sister’s home. The test lawn measures around 1,000 square meters, and has unclear borders and several large trees. I set up the bot myself from scratch, following the instructions in the app, including constructing the charge station and RTK receiver. I mapped the lawn into different mowing zones and added no-mow areas. I assessed the lawnbot based on the neatness and speed of mowing, accuracy of navigation, and general ease of use. I also explored the different options in the app to see the extent to which I could fine-tune settings, and ran object avoidance tests using different-sized obstacles. I then compared all of my findings to other lawnbots I’ve used, while also weighing everything up against the price to gauge whether the bot offers good value for money.

Read more about how we test

  • First reviewed August 2025



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Gaming Gear

NVIDIA releases the next generation of its cutting-edge ‘robot brain’

by admin


NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is bullish on the future of robotics, and sees it as the chipmaker’s biggest opportunity outside of AI. Today the company announced the next generation of its Jetson AGX system-on-module called Jetson Thor. The developer kit and T5000 production modules are computers designed for physical AI and robotics.

The company has been iterating on these robot brains for a few years now, with each model more powerful than the last. The newest generation is powered by NVIDIA’s Blackwell GPU architecture and offers 7.5 times more AI compute and 3.5 times greater energy efficiency than its predecessor, the Jetson Orin. These chips can run generative AI models, including large language and visual models, to help robots interpret the world around them. “We’ve built Jetson Thor for the millions of developers working on robotic systems that interact with and increasingly shape the physical world,” said NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.

The module is powered by NVIDIA’s full-stack Jetson software platform, which is purpose-built for physical AI and robotics applications. The company counts Amazon, Meta, Agility Robotics and Boston Dynamics among its robotics clients using Jetson chips, which should give you an idea of who the target audience for this technology is. The Jetson AGX Thor is now on sale for $3,499 as a developer kit, and NVIDIA will sell the Thor T5000 modules for installation in production-ready robots. These will be sold at a wholesale price of $2,999 per module for a minimum order of 1,000 or more.



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A top-down view of the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni with the robot exiting the base station
Product Reviews

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni review: a chatty but effective robot vacuum that shows off how well a roller can mop

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni: Two-minute review

I’ll say one thing about Ecovacs Robotics: the brand might make too many robot vacuums that I, as a reviewer, can’t keep up with, but they all seem well thought out and catering to different needs and budgets. In 2024, it released a good-value robovac that I really liked in my Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review, and it’s impressed again with a higher-end model in the Deebot X8 Pro Omni reviewed here.

The X8 has plenty of smarts on board, with Ecovacs’ voice assistant Yiko now better at understanding commands and having a more conversational interaction than its previous iterations on older Deebots. Even if you don’t interact with Yiko, the X8 has plenty of automated voice prompts that I very quickly found to be annoying – there’s only so many times you can hear it say “don’t worry” when its auto-emptying. While you can’t switch these off, you can mute the volume entirely and depend on the app notifications to find out if the robot needs help at any time (like if it’s stuck somewhere).

There’s Google Assistant and Alexa support as well, but Yiko can handle a few extra commands that I found the other two voice assistants couldn’t handle. To futureproof your smart home, the X8 Pro Omni also has Matter support, so you can control several smart devices via a single hub.

There’s a camera on board that the bot uses to ‘see’ its surroundings for better navigation and obstacle avoidance, but it also provides a live feed that requires a passcode to be set up for access. There’s a Patrol mode here that turns the X8 Pro Omni bot into a security unit and it saves a bunch of photos for you to view whenever you like. You can also speak to your pets or kids if you need to check in on them (spy?) while you’re at work. I’ve asked Ecovacs for clarification on how secure the camera is from hackers and will update this review as soon as I hear back.

These smart bells and whistles are all great, but this robot vacuum shines at its most important function: cleaning. It’s arguably one of the best automated cleaners I’ve tested in 2025, with edge cleaning its biggest asset thanks to an extending side brush and wet roller while vacuuming and mopping respectively. In fact, I’ve seen the X8 Pro Omni travel far closer to walls and furniture than many of its competitors, thus allowing its extendable parts to do their job effectively.

The Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni can get very close to walls and furniture to clean, much closer than other bots I’ve tested previously (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

  • Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni at ECOVACS for $1,169.99

It puts its 18,000Pa of suction power to good use, with my carpets looking fresh and clean after a single run on its highest suction setting. It did a better job than what I saw in my Roborock Qrevo Edge review despite 18,500Pa of suction. And its roller mop was quite impressive compared to the mops pads I’d gotten used to previously, and that’s despite Ecovacs saying there’s no pressure applied by the roller on the floor.

There’s also a detergent dispenser on board and use of the soap is automatic provided you toggle it on in the app – Ecovacs says there’s always a ratio of 200:1 detergent and water mix in the pipeline to ensure the correct usage. Even without detergent I found my floors were left stain-free after every mop – in fact, it was better than I experienced in my Narwal Freo Z10 review that, at the time, I said had excellent mopping skills.

In four weeks of testing, the X8 Pro Omni got entangled in a cable just once because the side brush pulled a low-hanging wire towards the bumper, but otherwise its obstacle avoidance is very good. Even more impressive is its overall navigation – it invariably took the path of least resistance in my apartment, which meant it got its tasks done relatively quickly and, importantly, without consuming too much battery life.

Even the base station performance is top notch, with the onboard bin getting cleaned quite well each time it empties, and the wet-roller cleaning is impeccable. Water consumption is also lower than any other robovac I’ve tested before – I’ve previously had to refill the clean water after every full cleaning cycle in my small inner-city apartment, but this time I’ve had to do so once every four or five sessions (depending on its routine).

All in all, this was excellent performance from not just the robot vacuum, but I commend Ecovacs for streamlining its app experience as well. It’s much nicer to use, with plenty of customization options to suit your personal cleaning needs. Importantly, these custom routines are now very easy to access.

It’s relatively noisier than some of its newer competitors, and it can’t perform the climbing feats of the more expensive Dreame X50 Ultra, but if you value excellent cleaning performance above all else, I’d find it very easy to recommend the Deebot X8 Pro Omni – and it’s often discounted.

It doesn’t necessarily stand out visually, but the gold accents lend the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni some class (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni review: price & availability

  • Available since March 2025
  • List price: $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$2,499
  • Incurs ongoing costs for dust bags and detergent

There are quite a few all-in-one robot vacuum cleaners at the same price point that Ecovacs Robotics is selling the X8 Pro Omni, but I think the Deebot can justify its premium cost on its feature set and performance.

It’s listed for $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$2,499 at full price but, at the time of writing, US and UK customers could pick it up for $899.99 / £999 respectively directly from the Ecovacs website. In Australia, it has dropped to AU$2,199 previously, but I suspect there’ll be better discounts around the world during major shopping events like Black Friday sales. It’s also available from select third-party retailers, including Amazon.

This price gets you not just excellent performance (explained below in detail), but you also get an impressive set of features, including voice assistant and Matter integration for a smarter home setup. With that in mind, I think the X8 Pro Omni is well priced compared to some of the other robovacs on the market, although Ecovacs has cheaper models that clean really well, as proved by the Deebot T30 Omni.

As an example of competitor pricing, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra cost $1,499/ AU$2,499 (unavailable in the UK) and is a good machine, but has 12,000Pa of suction compared to the Deebot’s 18,000Pa. Matching the suction power at 18,500Pa is the Roborock Qrevo Edge, but I found it hard to recommend at its list price of $1,599.99 / AU$2,799 (unavailable in the UK) based on its performance alone. On the other hand, Ecovacs’ own Deebot T50 Max Pro Omni has 18,500Pa suction, the Yiko voice assistant and promises good cleaning at a lower price point of $799.99 / £799 / AU$1,799.

If you want more suction power, you’ll have to pay a lot more. For example, the Roborock Saros 10 with its whopping 22,000Pa of power will set you back $1,599.99 / £1,499.99 / AU$2,999 at full price, but is often discounted to match the X8’s retail cost. The Dreame X50 Ultra Complete with 20,000Pa of suction is also expensive compared to the X8 Pro Omni, coming in at a list price of $1,699.99 / £1,299 / AU$2,999, but it can climb low steps that many of the newer machines can’t.

As with any other hybrid robot vacuum, there is the ongoing cost of purchasing dust bags and detergent to take into consideration, although the latter is an optional add-on but I can see the need for it in homes with toddlers and pets. Unlike other brands, though, Ecovacs doesn’t supply a bottle of detergent in the box – at least not in Australia, where the testing for this review was conducted, due to “customs issues with international shipments” – so that’s $49.98 / £44 right off the bat for two 1L bottles in the US and UK (frequently discounted), but the same two-pack isn’t available in Australia where a 1L bottle retails for AU$37.50.

The antibacterial dust bags come in packs of three and are available directly from Ecovacs Robotics for $24.99 / £17.99 / AU$29.90 at the time of writing.

Despite the ongoing cost, I think the Deebot X8 Pro Omni balances its feature set, performance and price well, but I’d recommend picking it up during a sale as it’s frequently discounted.

• Value score: 4 / 5

The three-prong button on the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni doesn’t look functional, but it has three tasks it can perform when needed (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni review: specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Suction power:

18,000Pa

Onboard bin capacity:

220ml

Dust bag capacity:

3L

Clean water tank capacity:

4L

Dirty water tank capacity:

4L

Reservoir capacity:

110ml clean; 95ml dirty

Mop lift:

10mm

Noise level:

up to 75dB

Battery capacity:

6,400mAh

Runtime:

up to 228 minutes / up to 240sqm (2,580 sq ft)

Charging time:

4.6 hours

Dimensions:

Robot = 353 x 351.5 x 98 mm; base station = 350 x 477 x 533 mm

Weight:

Robot = 5.3kg; base station = 7.6kg

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni review: Design

  • Gold accents give it a classy look
  • Extending side brush and wet roller mop
  • Taller than the average robot but lacks a turret; tall but slim base station

I only had to take the robot out to see that Deebot X8 Pro Omni exudes class, thanks to some gold-colored accents on the otherwise black machine. Unlike the Narwal Freo Z10 that I reviewed prior to the X8 (which was a 11kg weight straight out of the box), the Deebot comes packed in layers, which makes it very easy to set up.

Robot design

Once you remove the wash tray from the top of the box, the next item to emerge is the X8 robot. The first thing that distinguishes it from many other robovacs is the lack of a top turret that typically houses the navigation tech. In the X8 Pro Omni, though, all the necessary sensors are on the front and the sides.

The lack of a turret means the X8 can roll under many low-lying pieces of furniture, although it’s doesn’t have the slimline form factor of the Roborock Saros 10R – it’s a little taller, standing at 9.8cm/3.8in compared to the Saros at 8cm/3in, so there needs to be a minimum clearance of 10cm/4in for the Deebot to clean where many other robovacs can’t.

A black plastic disc with the Ecovacs logo in gold covers the top of the robot, with a cutout to show off a gold three-pronged button. There’s a tiny power icon in the center of the button to indicate that it’s functional, but it’s easy to miss and can appear purely decorative, although it lights up when in use and charging. Its functionality is listed on a large piece of cardboard inside the packaging: a short press to start or pause, a double press to extend or retract the wet roller, and a three-second long press to send the bot back to its dock. In the four weeks I spent with the machine, I never found the need to use the button – the robot does everything seamlessly.

Also under the top cover is a removable 220ml/7.4oz dustbin whose filter can be taken out for regular cleaning, plus a toggle switch for power, a Wi-Fi indicator light and a QR code to begin your app setup.

Image 1 of 3

After four weeks of use, there was barely any hair tangled anywhere (just one strand around a large wheel)(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)The V-shaped bristles of the central brush are very effective at avoiding entanglements(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)The wet roller was a lot more effective at streak-free mopping than circular mop pads(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

On the front of the robot are LiDAR sensors that it uses for mapping your home, while a camera also peeping through the same front window adds visual information that’s paired with artificial intelligence (AIVI) to navigate around obstacles. Along the sides are edge sensors that prevent it from banging into a wall or furniture, yet allowing the bot to get really close for effective cleaning. A mic and speaker are also housed within the front window.

The back of the robot has two charging points, but there’s also a water compartment inside with a clean capacity of 110ml and 95ml for dirty mop water. While you never have to worry about the water reservoir after setup, it can be released using an inset lever.

The side brush extends, but given the Deebot X8 Pro Omni travels very close to obstacles, it even managed to clean corners (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

As with nearly every other Deebot I’ve tested (and many other brands besides), the underside of the robot houses the central bar brush that sports bristles arranged in a V shape to help it gather hair and fur without itself getting entangled. A single side brush towards the front of the bot rotates at varying speeds automatically depending on the size of the debris it senses – it slows down for larger pieces, similar to some of the high-end Roborocks. It can also extend out to reach into corners and clean along edges – both of which it manages to do better than many of its competitors because the robot itself gets really close to walls.

The rear of the undercarriage is dominated by a wet roller rather than circular mop pads which, according to Ecovacs, spins at a speed of 200rpm and has a scraper in its holder that constantly cleans out the dirty water as it rotates. 16 nozzles keep it supplied with clean water (and detergent if you’re using any).

The main wheels are quite large and, for the first time in any robot vacuum I’ve tested, I found them to be quite noisy when traveling over the tiles in my home. The sound was akin to very hard or brittle plastic moving over a rough surface, but in my time testing the X8 Pro Omni, I didn’t notice too much wear and tear on the wheels to account for the sound. A small omnidirectional caster wheel completes the robot’s physical setup.

It’s easy to remove the onboard bin in the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni to clean out the filter regularly (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Base station design

The base station itself isn’t much to write home about and is quite similar to several other models on the market. However, the gold accents on the lids of the two water tanks and branding on the front of the dock makes it look quite smart. The tanks have a 4L capacity each and are very easy to lift up, refill or clean out, then replace back on the dock.

Image 1 of 3

Water tanks are easy to access and fill or clean(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)There are plenty of parts you can wash out if you want to, including the soap dispenser (on top of the tanks) and the wash trays(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)Even the robot’s onboard water compartment comes off easily of you want to give it a quick rinse (the inside filter can get grimy)(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Below the tanks is a covered nook that houses the detergent dispenser and a 3L dust bag. The dispenser is very easy to slide out and refill, while changing the dust bag is also very intuitive. It’s the cover for this nook that takes a little effort to remove each time you need access to either of its two inmates – it clips in very tightly indeed and you’ll need to pull it with some force from the bottom of the panel.

Under the covered nook is the cavity for the robot, which sits on a washing tray. Inside the cavity, on the rear wall of the base station, you’ll notice nozzles and charging points that keep the robot doing what it needs to do.

The base station is about as tall as many other brands offer, but it’s a little slimmer than, say, a Narwal dock. It will still need a decent amount of space to house, with enough clearance on the top to allow you to remove and replace the tanks.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni review: Performance

  • Excellent vacuuming on high suction; top-notch mopping at most waterflow levels
  • Arguably one of the best edge cleaners in the business
  • Very good navigation and obstacle avoidance

The X8 Pro Omni for this review was tested in a 40sqm/430sqft inner-city apartment in Sydney, Australia, with the single bedroom fully carpeted, but the rest of the rooms featuring matte-finish tiles. The bathroom, however, has smoother tiles than the rest of the hard floors and it was part of the full map that the X8 had to clean. There are no stairs in the apartment to test cliff sensors, but there are a couple of low thresholds that were useful to test the X8 Pro Omni’s ability to clear some obstacles.

It’s also important for me to mention that I have no pets, but I’ve always found my bedroom carpet covered in my own (long) hair within 3-4 days of cleaning it, and is usually a very good test for any vacuum cleaner that I review.

Before starting the first cleaning session, I not only set up some custom routines (called Scenario Cleans in the Ecovacs Home app), but I also went through the advanced settings to toggle on some key features, including the carpet-first option as I have mixed flooring. This ensured that no matter what custom cleaning routine I might use, carpets were always vacuumed first to minimize the risk of them getting wet (more on the app experience later).

Overall performance of the X8 Pro Omni was excellent, but it’s important to note that it’s best used for the regular maintenance cleaning sessions that you might need on a daily or a weekly basis. It can’t replace the best cordless vacuum cleaners, but it definitely reduces the human effort and time spent on keeping your floors spick and span.

Water usage in the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni is not a lot compared to other models I’ve tested (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Vacuuming

Let’s start the performance section with the most basic function: vacuuming. I’ve already mentioned earlier in this review that the X8 Pro Omni was one of the best cleaning machines I’ve tested recently, exceeding the vacuuming performance I got from a Roborock and a Narwal that I tested prior to the Deebot. It really does put the 18,000Pa – which is in no way class-leading now – to very good use, particularly at its higher suction settings.

I usually have to set most robovacs to their maximum suction setting to get a decent clean on the bedroom carpet which, as I’ve described above, can get covered in my own hair within days. It’s been rare for me to see that carpet completely hair free after a single session even using the highest power level on other robovacs, but the X8 Pro Omni was been able to do just that each and every time it’s done a bedroom clean on its Max setting.

The Deebot’s got four suction settings and while I wasn’t particularly keen on the Quiet option which reduces the power significantly, I found the Standard and Strong settings to be perfect for hard floors, not once needing to step it up to Max on tiles.

The Deebot X8 Pro Omni repeatedly does 360º rotations around furniture legs to ensure good cleaning (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The X8 Pro Omni has a suction-boost option which, as the name suggests, automatically increases power when it detects carpets, but I wasn’t able to notice the dynamic suction from sound alone when it went from hard floor to the mid-pile rug in my living room, although it seemed to do a very good job anyway. The audible change in suction was heard when it was vacuuming tiles in my kitchen, just under a cabinet – go figure.

To check its vacuuming abilities further, I conducted TechRadar’s standard tests of sprinkling tea dust and oats (representing two different-sized debris) on both hard floors and carpets. Doing a Zone clean and set at Strong suction, you can see from the video clip below that the X8 Pro Omni did a fantastic job on the tiles, even sucking up the tea dust from along the edge of the room.

If you look closely, you’ll also notice that the side brush slows down when it detects larger debris (oats) to make sure they all get pulled towards the bar brush.

On the carpet, which was also just a Zone clean done as a separate test, I set the robot to Max suction and found it cleared up the oats very well indeed, although tea dust that went deep into the fibers remained, and is visible in the video clip as a dark patch. I used my finger to loosen the carpet fibers and let the X8 run over it again, and voila, it was all cleaned up.

For both tests, I had the X8 Pro Omni set at moving in the Deep Clean pattern, which covers maximum floor space but time consuming, and I didn’t find the need to go over either of the spots with my Dyson V15s Detect Submarine.

Mopping

This is the first robot vacuum I’ve tested that features a wet roller rather than a pair of rotating mop pads and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Needless to say, the X8 Pro Omni exceeded my expectations and then some with the way it tackled my hard floors. I will go so far as to say this was arguably the best mopping I’ve seen in a while by a robot vacuum.

From shaved Toblerone on the kitchen floor (I was making Toblerone cheesecake at the time) to a partially dried dollop of coriander-mint chutney, I was very impressed with how well it mopped up different (dry) spills.

I specify dry because you really don’t want a robot vacuum to clean a wet spill like cereal milk or curry sauce as everything in the undercarriage will get wet with the sticky liquid or the sauce, including the wheels and side brush. Cleaning the bot after that will be a chore in itself.

It’s fun to watch the wet roller slide in and out from under the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni bot (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

As with many other robot vacuums like itself, the X8 Pro Omni has three waterflow settings (Low, Medium and High) with a total of 50 levels. The lowest settings would be good for sensitive wood floors but, for me, I’ve always found higher waterflow rates better for my tiles, so I had the Deebot set at level 40 most of the time as I found 45 and 50 made my tiles very wet indeed, while 30 and lower barely left a damp streak.

My kitchen floors, in particular, need regular mopping and, given it’s right beside the dining room, this area of my apartment was a good test for the X8 Pro Omni. I found that in its Deep Cleaning speed and water level set to 45 but no detergent, there was a visible difference on my floor after its first run compared to what the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine had done prior to switching to the Deebot.

In fact, I’m not sure how much difference adding the detergent has done to my floors because it mopped up dusty footprints and dried, dusty water stains very well without any soap, and it did just as good a job with.

The stress test I put the X8 under was mopping up a partially dried dollop of coriander and mint chutney – it took a couple of passes at water level 40 with detergent in the dispenser to mop it up entirely, no stain left on the floor. The issue here was that the rotating side brush scattered a tiny bit of dry chutney away, but given it was set to Deep Clean, the bot moved over the entire zone twice (more on this below in the navigation section), running perpendicular to its initial path, which meant that scattered bit got mopped up later.

I enjoyed watching the extendable roller sneak in and out of the robot as soon as it sensed something on its side. This could be a wall or a furniture leg, but I found that it hardly left a dry spot.

On the product listing page on the Ecovacs website, the brand says there’s no pressure applied by the wet roller on the floor, but given how well I saw it mop, I’d be surprised if this spec listing is correct. There’s surely some pressure being applied for such effective mopping.

Another thing I love about the roller is that it’s streak-free, particularly on the lower or mid waterflow rates. The only time I saw streaks (and not dirty ones, mind, just marks to show a mop has passed) was when the roller was saturated with clean water.

With the sole exception of one Zone cleaning session when it took the wrong path out of its dock to get to where it needed to in a different room, the Deebot X8 Pro Omni never once strayed from the path of least resistance.

It’s impressive navigation extends to doing full 360º rotations around furniture legs, and while the side brush didn’t always extend when I expected it to, the robot itself got so close to walls and furniture that I never had cause for complaint when it came to its navigation just millimeters from what is essentially an obstacle.

It’s three different “cleaning speeds” (or its movement pattern in a given space) are a little hit and miss if you really want a thorough job done. The best movement pattern I found was the Deep Cleaning, which means the robot cleans a space twice, first running in parallel lines just centimeters apart, then traveling perpendicular to ensure no spot is missed.

The other two cleaning speeds – Standard and Quick – aren’t bad, but because the parallel pathways are slightly more spread out compared to Deep Cleaning, I found that the occasional hair strand or speck of debris got missed. That said, “cleaning speed” as Ecovacs calls it is apt as these determine how quickly the X8 Pro Omni finishes its cleaning task.

Obstacle avoidance is also fantastic, as you can see from the video above when I conducted TechRadar’s standard test – creating an obstacle course of a slipper, shoe, a cable, socks and a tissue box. It avoided every single one of them without a hiccup, a feat I’ve not yet seen from any robot vacuum I’ve tested to date.

The only time the Deebot X8 Pro Omni got entangled with a cable, it was the side brush that pulled it into the bumper (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

However, during one vacuum-only session in my bedroom, it got entangled in a USB-C cable that had one end dangling close to the floor and the side brush pulled it lower (see above image). I could hear Yiko complaining and a notification popped up on my phone that the X8 Pro Omni needed help. I disentangled it and it carried on with its work after I used a voice command to “restart cleaning”.

During a full-house clean, I shut a door to one room to see how it would react to its map not quite being accurate and it had no issues. It got close to the door, pivoted a little on an axis to see if it could spot an opening, but carried on doing what it needed to in the rest of the apartment without any complaints.

Base station performance

Whether it’s sucking out all the dirt and debris from the onboard dustbin or cleaning the wet roller, the X8 Pro Omni base station performance is so good that it justifies the high price tag this machine demands.

Only the tiniest amount of dirt remains inside the onboard dustbin after each vacuuming run that you, honestly, never have to worry about. The only time you’ll need to remove the small onboard bin is when the filter needs cleaning or replacing, or if something gets stuck inside that requires manual removal (never once happened during my testing).

The dustbag inside the base station has a 3L capacity, so it will last you a long while, albeit that will depend on how often you clean, how large your home is and whether you have pets.

Image 1 of 2

Using the detergent dispenser is optional, and the 3L dust bag could last a while(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)With use, the inside of the base station can begin to look a little worse for wear, but it doesn’t hamper performace(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Dispensing detergent happened as required, as did filling up the robot’s onboard 110ml clean water compartment. Even pumping out dirty water from the 90ml partition worked well during my testing – you can remove this compartment to clean out the filter inside.

The washing of the roller was impeccable. It looked nearly new after my running it a few times a week for four weeks and the shortest two-hour hot-air drying is more than enough to ensure there’s no trace of dampness that could encourage bacterial or fungal growth. In fact, at the end of my four-week trial period, I found the roller soft to the touch as it was on day one.

The wash tray can also be cleaned out automatically by the machine from time to time, so the only hands-on task you’ll have to do regularly is clean out the dirty water and refill the fresh water. Every couple of months or so, you’ll also need to swap out the dust bag or refill the detergent dispenser if you’ve been using soap for mopping. The ‘health’ of all the accessories and parts is listed in the app, so you’ll know when to do what anyway.

Battery life

Ecovacs says there’s a 6,400mAh battery pack powering the X8 Pro Omni robot, which is rated for up to 228 minutes or a maximum area coverage of 240sqm / 2,580sq ft. In my testing – which admittedly was done in a much smaller space – I found that a number like that is nigh impossible to achieve unless you run the robot at the lowest settings possible, which I doubt anyone will want to do.

In Standard suction and medium waterflow levels during a full 40sqm clean doing a single vacuum-and-mop pass, the X8’s battery dropped to 20%. Bumping it up to Max suction and high waterflow rates, I found the robot needed to go back for a top up at the mains after completing five out of the six rooms in its map – about 78 minutes. Both these tests were conducted at the Deep Clean speed, so more time consuming.

Extrapolating that for Standard or Quiet cleans, you will be able to run the X8 Pro Omni for around 150 minutes, but keep in mind that it boasts dynamic suction as well, so total battery life will depend on how many carpets it encounters or how tough the cleaning job is.

That’s not bad battery life, but it’s not class-leading as models like the Narwal Freo Z10 and Dreame X40 Ultra can outdo the X8. Larger homes will find that a full cleaning task may well require recharging to complete. That said, the X8 is smart enough to learn how much battery it needs to finish a job, so a full-home clean may not necessarily take all day.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

No matter the cleaning task, the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni performs it well (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni review: app control

  • Improved Ecovacs Home app
  • More streamlined setup for robot and base station settings
  • Map might need extensive editing, but is easy to do

I’ve previously not been very impressed with the Ecovacs Home app as it wasn’t as streamlined as I would have liked, but that’s changed now – the updated version of the app that I used with the X8 Pro Omni is a significant improvement.

It’s now easier to access the custom cleaning routines – renamed Scenario Cleans from just plain ol’ Scenarios – as they’re listed on the homepage of the device, and each of these are also very easy to customize and set up.

To access more settings options, the Ecovacs Home app has always allowed you to ‘Enter’ a more detailed page with your home’s map laid out, but now the robot and base station advanced settings are right there on that same screen – the robot stuff is right at the bottom while switching tabs gives you the base station setup. This is a much better app experience than I encountered only a few months ago from the time of publication of this review.

Mapping with the Deebot X8 Pro Omni is quick and it’s remarkably easy to edit the final map (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

As I’ve already mentioned, there’s the Yiko voice assistant on board and, in all honesty, I really don’t see the need for verbal communication with the device, but my inner lazy self took a shine to it for a very short time. All routines and settings work so well, that Yiko doesn’t need to be there, but it was nice to see that it can understand commands better than before.

During my testing, it didn’t comprehend its own name (see the screenshot below where it hears its name as “you go”), but that didn’t stop it from performing the task I asked it to do (pause cleaning). I immediately asked it to restart again – no problem whatsoever.

You can give Yiko back-to-back commands and you’ll hear its voice prompts very often, so much so that it can get annoying (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

You’ll also hear a lot of oral prompts every time the robot has to perform a task. This can quickly get very annoying, particularly when the self-empty of the bin takes place because it’s a long, drawn-out message telling you “don’t worry” about the loud noises. There’s sadly no way to turn these off, but you can drop the volume right down to ‘mute’, but this also means you won’t hear when the bot needs help. Thankfully there are app notifications to help with that. The volume is also associated with a ‘ding’ sound the robot makes every time you adjust a setting – these too will be muted if you turn the volume slider right down.

There’s plenty of control via the Ecovacs Home app, which has evolved to become more streamlined than before (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Every setting on the app is well explained and easy to understand in case you want to use it, but I would advise that you take some time to go through all options before you begin using the X8 Pro Omni so that you get the best results possible.

For example, you can set and forget the cleaning sequence for the whole house and, no matter which rooms you choose for whatever custom routine you might have, the X8 Pro Omni will follow that. This can be edited at any time too. As I’ve mentioned before, you can also toggle on carpet-first cleaning in the robot settings, set how you want the auto-empty to take place or how often you want the wet roller washed. You even get control over how long you want the base station to spend drying it with hot air. You’ll also need to toggle on auto detergent use, otherwise the base station won’t use soap even if you’ve filled the dispenser.

There is a lot of control here, although it would be nice to see Ecovacs allow the user to choose how many passes the X8 will do when on an automatic AI-powered cleaning run (it’s always just one in this mode).

• App score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni?

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

Compared to other similarly specced models, the X8 Pro Omni is very competitively priced, balancing feature set, power, performance and cost quite well – plus it’s often discounted.

4 / 5

Design

It’s a very low-maintenance design with several parts that can be taken out to wash if necessary. And it exudes class. The lack of a turret means it can even roll under some low-lying furniture.

4.5 / 5

Performance

As long as you avoid using the X8 to clean wet spills, it will handle your regular cleaning with aplomb. It will even maintain itself well without too much intervention from you.

4.5 / 5

App control

The updated Ecovacs Home app is a lot more streamlined now and easier to use.

4 / 5

Don’t buy it if…

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni review: Also consider

How I tested the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni

  • Used three to four times a week for four weeks
  • Tried various suction and waterflow levels in a 40sqm test space with mixed flooring
  • Experimented with the Yiko voice assistant and tweaked various advanced settings

It’s very easy to recommend the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni, despite its higher price tag (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

I received my review unit of the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni in the third of week of July 2025 and spent the next four weeks running it on various settings and custom routines mostly three times a week, but it has done more sessions during the last week when I conducted my obstacle course test.

I found that once all the settings were as I’d want them, the X8 Pro Omni just did what it needed to do without any fuss. During that time, I found it didn’t use as much clean water as other robot vacuums (especially compared to the Narwal Freo Z10 I tested prior to it) and, hence, found I didn’t need to keep refilling the clean-water tank as much. Of course, that’s also because the test space is small (just 40sqm/430sqft) and has mixed flooring with carpet in the bedroom and a large rug in the living room.

I set up four different custom routines, or Shortcut Cleans as the app labels them, and tested each one 2-3 times over the course of the four-week testing period. I also ran single-room and zone cleaning sessions to see how the X8 Pro Omni performs in its auto-cleaning mode.

While I began testing the X8 without any detergent for the first week, I added a small quantity to the dispenser on week 2 of testing.

I put it through TechRadar’s usual tests for vacuuming and mopping (using oats and tea from a bag for the former, and a dollop of chutney for the latter). I also conducted our standard obstacle avoidance test, but threw in two types of socks and a tissue box for good measure.

As you’ve probably already read, the X8 Pro Omni passed all its tests with flying colors, with only the one hiccup when it got entangled in a low-hanging cable during a vacuum-only session.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners

[First reviewed August 2025]

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni: Price Comparison



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China Is Building an AI Robot Uterus, and Are We Just Basically 'Dune' Now?
Gaming Gear

China Is Building an AI Robot Uterus, and Are We Just Basically ‘Dune’ Now?

by admin


In a development that completely demolishes the line between robotics and reproductive science, China’s Kaiwa Technology says it has introduced humanoid robots equipped with advanced artificial womb systems.

What could possibly go wrong with this line of experimentation?

Well, those of you who are Dune fans know exactly where this could theoretically go: a future filled with robots that take over humanity and have to be defeated and then outlawed in order to keep civilization going.

But we should back up a little before we jump right to that.

Let’s first look a little closer at what Kaiwa says it has done thus far. It says it has a “late stage” prototype that combines artificial intelligence with bioengineering and mimics the hormonal and physical processes of pregnancy. The robots have biosynthetic organs that the company claims are capable of simulating gestation in a controlled environment, including feeding an embryo or fetus via liquid nutrients. Kaiwa claims its womb-endowed robots will eventually retail for about $14,000, as SlashGear reports.

Kaiwa has not disclosed whether it’s running tests on biological material or with human eggs, sperm, or embryos. It also does not explain how an actual baby would be born.

What is the downside to a working robot womb?

Well, the first and most obvious thing is that a robotic uterus could easily damage or terminate a fetus if it does not work correctly. Babies are not hydroponic, after all, and depend on a complex mixture of nutrients and signals from the highly complicated placenta, which is really the workhorse of pregnancy (aside from the pregnant person carrying the fetus).

Creating an AI placenta would be much more of a Holy Grail in science than a robotic womb, because it grows, changes, and expands as the fetus develops and is far more delicate and difficult to replicate.

Kaiwa did not respond to a request for comment. It has not said whether it is also developing a humanoid placenta or if that is already part of the robot uterus.

“This is a revolutionary step,” Kaiwa said in a statement. “Our robots could help scientists explore the intricacies of gestation and, someday, provide alternatives to biological reproduction.”

More worrying, there have been very few reports of any ethical vetting of what Kaiwa is using to test this new technology or how advanced it is. There is serious ethical debate over the future of human reproduction and how a robotic component would affect the relationships and ownership of embryos or children conceived or delivered that way, particularly in countries like the U.S., in which some states recognize embryos as property.

How or why could a robotic womb be a good or bad idea?

The pros? If true and ethically vetted, this new technology could potentially open new avenues for infertility research and reproductive assistance. It could provide surrogacy at a much reduced cost of around $14,000 (the cost of the robot) for people who can’t have a child, compared to a human surrogacy fee of about $100,000 to $200,000 in the U.S.

The cons? The patchwork of laws applying to reproductive tech is a changing pattern depending on the country, the region, the governing bodies (like the European Union), cultural roles, religious rules, and the rights of parenthood and surrogates.

Who would own each part of the process of creating a human fetus in a robot would have to be exhaustively studied and debated, and it would very likely fall short of most definitions of bioethical standards. Who then oversees that process and enforces its rules should there be infractions is a whole other ball of legal and ethical wax.

The prospect of these robots being artificially intelligent raises another important issue. Super-sophisticated robots may eventually be granted personhood status, meaning they’d be protected under the same laws as human beings. And should these robots eventually feel and experience emotions in a manner similar to humans, that would introduce yet another layer of ethical and legal complexity.

An artificial womb could also help human babies survive extreme prematurity and prevent serious complications like brain injuries, lung damage, or blindness. Indeed,  advances in neonatal care may drive this technology forward, regardless of any overt attempt to create a robotic uterus.

Conversely, critics worry about the potential misuse or dehumanization of the gestation process, noting that artificial wombs could lead to creating “human-like entities” without full biological rights or moral considerations.

“Pregnancy is an extremely complex process, with each step being extremely delicate and critical,” Yi Fuxian, an obstetrician at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, told Newsweek.

He said the robot is “likely just a gimmick” and that synthetic gestation has caused problems in sheep, and that “many health risks emerge at different ages, not to mention mental health issues.”

It may eventually just all be about the money

Recent reporting has found that China and South Korea’s tech sectors are watching the pregnancy robot saga closely.

South Korea already has robots as 10% of its workforce. In January 2024, its Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy unveiled the Fourth Intelligent Robot Basic Plan, which will plow $2.24 billion in public and private investments by 2030 to advance automation across most business sectors.

Countries with declining birth rates like Japan and South Korea may also be major marketplaces for a synthetic uterus.

South Korea has declared its lack of babies a national emergency and has been attempting to lure people into becoming parents with a new ministry focused on providing housing, immigration, and other demographic markers that may be keeping people from having any or more children.

The county has already invested more than $200 billion in fertility programs over the last 18 years, but thus far the birth rate has stayed low. Maybe having a government-subsidized pregnancy robot could change that.



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