Panasonic is dipping its toes into the robot vacuum market, introducing the triangular-shaped MC-RS1 Rulo that is deigned to better clean the corners in your home.
The Rulo robot vacuum has rotating brushes on two of its three corners that get into those corners and drive the dirt into the unit’s main rotating mechanism on the bottom of the chassis.
Panasonic is releasing the Rulo only in Japan at the moment, so the company says the robot vacuum works on all types of surfaces, including Japanese tatami mats.
Panasonic says Rulo will run for about an hour in auto mode after a three-hour charge, and it’s suite of sensors all it to navigate around furniture, pets, tables, chairs and other potential obstacles. Rulo, which weighs about 6.6 lbs and is 11.8 inches wide, can be configured to either follow the walls of a room or move randomly throughout a room.
Panasonic says the triangular design is a result of a customer survey that show they were unhappy with circular robot vacuums because they were unable to pick up dust in the corners of rooms. “The Rulo triangle shape was developed after years of R&D into vacuum cleaners,” a Panasonic spokeswoman tells PC World via email. “It is the first in the industry to be equipped with a fully fledged v-shaped brush.”
Panasonic will start selling the Rulo robot vacuum in Japan in March for ¥107,780 ($913). It says sales in overseas markets will follow.