Dyson put someone else’s motor in its robot vacuum

Dyson, a company built on engineering high-speed motors, has confirmed to The Verge that its newest robot vacuum doesn’t use a Dyson motor. The recently launched Spot & Scrub Ai robot vacuum and mop was “co-engineered,” Nathan Lawson McLean, senior design manager at Dyson, told The Verge.

According to Lawson McLean, the device merges “new and already existing Dyson technologies with other platforms.” Specifically, the new lidar-based navigation tech and the robot’s vacuum motor were developed by a third party. “It’s not one of our V10 motors; it’s one of our partner technologies,” said Lawson McLean.

Outsourcing manufacturing of key components is far from unusual in the world of robot vacuum manufacturers or manufacturing in general. But for a company that built its brand on high-speed motors and cyclonic vacuum technology, it’s a surprising move.

So, why did Dyson ditch its signature technology for its latest robot vacuum? Speed and cost, according to Lawson McLean. “We really wanted to enter the market in this new space of wet and dry and self-emptying,” he said. “And how could we quickly do that?” The answer: Get help.

While Dyson has been developing robotic floor-cleaning machines since the early 2000s, it’s years behind Chinese competitors like Roborock and Ecovacs, and even US-based iRobot, maker of the Roomba. The latter made a similar pivot from vision-based navigation to lidar last year, working with the Chinese original design manufacturer Shenzhen Picea Robotics to produce an entirely new line of Roombas.

Dyson would not confirm which partner it worked with, but Reddit sleuths and industry observers have identified it as Picea, which also works with Xiaomi, Anker (Eufy), and Shark, among others. (Picea recently purchased iRobot following its bankruptcy.)

Dyson’s previous attempt at robot vacuums — including the 360 Eye and the 360 Vis Nav — featured Dyson high-speed motors. They were excellent vacuums, but they struggled with navigating autonomously. Both bots used camera-based vSLAM navigation, which was slow and unreliable.

With the Spot + Scrub, Dyson worked with “a partner” to add the more reliable lidar-based navigation tech. Based on reviews, it has been a big upgrade. The shift was clearly needed to keep the company competitive in a crowded market. But, in the process, they also dropped Dyson’s best feature: its powerful motor.

Lawson McLean claims this tradeoff only tells half the story. “We never look at motors by themselves. […] the ducting, the inlet pressure, outlet pressure, etc. of the Spot + Scrub, all have a huge amount of Dyson engineering wrapped around it,” he says.

Additionally, he says much of the robot uses “new and already existing Dyson technologies,” including the Dyson-developed AI stain detection, 12-point hydration system for the self-cleaning wet rollers, and the “Cyclonic” bagless dock — part of the company’s first multifunction robotic dock.

But it’s still a Dyson vacuum without a Dyson motor, and in The Verge’s testing, the Spot + Scrub’s vacuuming performance was significantly worse than Dyson’s previous robots, particularly on carpet.

While he declined to share any future roadmaps, Lawson McLean hinted that Dyson could be working toward a robot that will successfully combine Dyson’s motor technology and vacuuming heritage with its advances in mopping technology, machine learning, and the key features of robotic vacuums. But the Spot + Scrub is not that. Instead, he says, it’s a “balancing act,” a product designed to keep Dyson competitive in a market where it has so far failed to make a significant impact.

Photography by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge