The race for robot vacuum cleaners is no longer just about getting them to vacuum more, or even to map the home quickly and efficiently. The challenge is for them to better understand a house, reach difficult places, distinguish between surfaces and take care of themselves when they finish working. That is the direction followed by the new Roborock Qrevo Edge 2 Flow, which arrives in Spain with a combination of vacuuming power, mopping, smart navigation and automation.
One of its most striking data appears in the figure of 35,000 Pa of suction power. The 35,000 puts it at the top of robot vacuum cleaners, but this does not determine how much a robot will clean. The design of the brushes, air flow, sealing, surface and ability to separate dirt and hair are also decisive.
Therefore, the Qrevo Edge 2 Flow, with the HyperForce system, is specially designed to collect dirt and pet hair on hard floors. To deal with one of the common problems of robot vacuum cleaners (hair that ends up tangled in the brushes), it incorporates a Dual Anti-Tangle system made up of the DuoDivide main brush and two arc-shaped lifting side brushes. The company claims that the system achieves a 0% entanglement rate.
But perhaps the most curious feature of the new model is not related to strength, but to its size. The robot has a height of only 8.98 centimeters, thanks in part to the RetractSense system, which incorporates a retractable LiDAR. This technology allows the sensor to be retracted when necessary and the robot can move under furniture with a free height of just 9.2 centimeters.
It is a solution to a simple but important problem: a robot can have sensors capable of creating a very precise map of a home, but if it physically does not fit under a sofa, that map is of little use in that area. Reducing the height allows you to expand the territory that you can clean autonomously. It also changes the way you approach edges. The roller mop can extend up to 44 millimeters to get close to walls and furniture, while a reversible side brush is designed to reach corners and crevices.
Scouring is another point on which the manufacturer has concentrated efforts. The SpiraFlow 2.0 system has 16 hydration points, 2.5 times higher downward pressure and a rotation speed of up to 240 revolutions per minute. Roborock claims that this combination can eliminate up to 99.99% of bacteria and provide an even clean. And here another everyday problem appears: what happens to a carpet when the robot has just wiped it with a wet mop. The Qrevo Edge 2 Flow Set incorporates Roller Shield, a system intended to separate wet and dry areas, while the mop can automatically raise up to 15 millimeters when it detects a carpet.
The real bet, however, is perhaps in reducing human intervention. Its multifunctional base can wash the mops with water at 75ºC, dry them with hot air at 63ºC and automatically empty the dust container. According to Roborock, this last system allows up to 65 days of autonomy without manual emptying. The base also detects the level of dirt and can prolong the washing of the mops or repeat the mopping in those areas that need additional cleaning.
To move around the home, the robot uses Reactive AI, a system that allows it to recognize and avoid more than 280 types of obstacles. This includes the ability to adapt its path to move more safely between objects it encounters on the ground. Artificial intelligence even has a function aimed at those who live with animals. The robot can locate pets, take photos and make video calls, and temporarily stop its brushes to reduce the chance of scaring them. Everything is integrated through SmartPlan 3.0, which adapts cleaning routines to the needs of the home. The user can also control the device using the Hello Rocky voice assistant, even without a Wi-Fi connection, and use platforms such as Matter, Alexa, Siri and Google Home. You’ll have to try it…