Interviews and Reviews

Robot Vacuum Cleaner; Interview with Simon Wan, the Co-Founder and Vice President of Roborock

Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Roborock is proud to be one of the best automatic, intelligent and effective robot vacuum cleaner brands in the market. The Co-Founder Simon Wan will be sharing more details with us in this interview with TechBullion.

Tell us a little more about yourself and your experience at Roborock?

My name is Simon and I am Co-Founder and Vice President of Roborock.
Here at Roborock, our mission is empowering people to live better by creating products that define innovation and engineering excellence.

I serve on the board of directors at Roborock, and oversee the company’s worldwide sales, operations and supply chain management. Prior to partnering with Richard Chang to co-found Roborock in 2014, I was the product manager and business director of the smartphone department in Huawei, where I established the company’s smartphone software R&D team and led the development of multiple best-selling phone products.

What is Roborock and what unique services and products is the company offering?

The short answer is that Roborock is a developer of ultra-intelligent home robotic cleaners designed to simplify life. We launched the company in 2014 to address some of the issues we saw with the robot vacuums that were on the market at that time and create products that clean better with even more convenience.  

Our dedication to detail and innovation in our first model quickly caught attention, pushing the industry forward as one of the first robot vacuums to utilize LIDAR navigation. In addition to developing products under the Roborock brand, we also manufacture robot vacuums for the world’s largest IOT (Internet of Things) firm, Xiaomi.

Under the Roborock brand, we now have a robust product portfolio of autonomous robotic cleaners as well as lightweight handheld units. Our commitment to giving customers products and features that serve a genuine need makes our product offering unique, which includes details like our all-new rubber brush that is resistant to tangles, dual-camera obstacle avoidance system and more. 

What is the technology behind the Roborock intelligent robot vacuums and how does it work?

The technology behind robot vacuums is incredibly advanced. For example, our S models use LIDAR mapping technology, the same technology used in autonomous vehicles, for precision navigation. This technology enables the robot cleaner to scan its environment to navigate a space more accurately and avoid potential objects for a more efficient cleaning process. 

With each model, we build upon our technology to make the cleaning experience even better. Some of our advances include first-of-its-kind ReactiveAI technology that enables our robot systems to automatically dodge obstacles and dual cameras for stereoscopic vision available in select models. These features make our systems some of the best at recognizing and avoiding common home hazards from items as small as a toy block to pet waste – and they are constantly learning to improve object recognition. 

Most recently, we launched our newest model, the Roborock S7, with two unique features introduced simultaneously. The first is a lifting mechanism that can automatically raise the mop to avoid wetting carpet, the second is powerful sonic mopping that uses fast scrubbing and water flow to disintegrate dried on surface dirt.

In terms of standard designs, robotic vacuums feature two types of brushes, a roller and spinner, designed to agitate dirt and debris and pull it inward to the center of the vacuum into the internal dust bin. All of our models start and end each session at a docking station that doubles as a battery charger. Additionally, the robots have Wi-Fi connectivity to enable remote control, meaning our customers can schedule cleanings from anywhere.

What is the global market size and level of demand for robotic home cleaners and what advantages is Roborock bringing to the market?

The global cleaning robot market size is expected to reach $24 billion by 2026, showing there is definitely a demand for them in the home. 

With all of our products, our goal is to make the experience even more convenient and cleaner with every cleaning session. It’s our dedication to convenience that makes Roborock a go-to brand for professionals, families and individuals with busy lives and time commitments.

Tell us more about the Roborock cordless stick vacuum, how does it work?

We took our experience building robot vacuums and applied it to the Roborock H6 Adapt to address the most common issues in the handheld vacuum space: weight and battery life. After almost three years of careful planning, we launched Roborock’s first-ever cordless stick vacuum at CES 2020 with a lightweight lithium polymer battery and weight of only three pounds, making it easy to lift to clean ceilings or shelves, or even take outside to vacuum inside your car. And to give it lasting power, the H6 Adapt was engineered to automatically shift from a lower to higher suction setting when carpets are detected.  

Due to the popularity of the H6 Adapt, we are introducing an all-new cordless stick vacuum, the Roborock H7, on May 25. We have built upon the H6 and made it more powerful, easy to use and maintain. An optimized 480W of power creates a maximum suction of 160AW reaching deeper into carpets, mattresses, sofas, tricky corners and car interiors, while charging time is reduced to 2.5 hours, providing for a powerful and long-lasting clean. The H7 also features a magnetic accessory storage system (MagBase™) that allows you to gather all the accessories quickly and efficiently when cleaning is finished. Using additional accessories, customers can convert the H7 into a mop as well. All these benefits packed in a lightweight 3.2lbs body makes the H7 a compact and easy-to-use cordless stick gamechanger.

Your latest product the S7 was recently introduced to the market, what makes it special?

This was a very exciting product launch for our team. Traditionally, the robot mopping process requires customer input and time to set zones or barriers to protect carpets from being dampened during a cleaning session. With our latest product launch, we didn’t hold back. The Roborock S7 is the world’s first sonic mopping system with intelligent lift technology on a robot vacuum.

As one of our most advanced models, the team developed our proprietary VibraRise™ technology that enables the S7 to mop hard floors and vacuum carpets in a single cleaning session, without interruption or user input, through ultrasonic carpet recognition technology.

And the all-new sonic mop delivers more than a maintenance clean for our customers. The combination of fast scrubbing and water flow generates sonic waves in the water as it flows across the mop, disintegrating surface dirt and leaving floors cleaner.

Any success stories you would like to share with us today from Roborock users?

The Roborock S7 had a great reception at CES in January 2021, earning numerous awards for its ingenuity, but the real test was its official public launch in March 2021. The S7 sold out in just hours in both the U.S. and European markets after debuting on Amazon.com and Walmart.com. 

The S7 is highly recommended with a 4.7 out of 5 stars rating on Amazon. Out of more than 100 reviews, 84% of reviewers gave the device a 5-star rating.

In 2020, Roborock served over 8 million households across the globe, and we are continuing to see a steady increase in sales, reflecting consumer’s growing confidence in the brand.

Could you tell us about your team and customer support?

Our company is headquartered in Beijing, but we have a global reach with staff from all around the world on our team. We drew together a talented team from some of the world’s most respected brands, including Microsoft, Huawei, Baidu, Foxconn and DJI, among others. 

Customer support is a top priority for our team – we have a team available 24/7 to help answer any questions. It’s where we learn first-hand from our customers what their favorite features are or where we can add new features for more convenience.  

Do you have more information for our readers?

Looking ahead, the team plans to continue building on the technology behind the Roborock S7 to make it even more effortless and convenient. In the coming months, the S7 will be compatible with an auto-emptying dock to help customers clean more often and deal with dust and debris less. 

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