SwitchBot S10 Robot Cleaner Auto-Refills Its Own Mop Water
Today, SlashGear is in Berlin, Germany, at IFA 2023 where we got a look at what SwitchBot has claimed is the first completely hands-free floor cleaning robot: the S10. From the outside, the S10 looks a lot like your run-of-the-mill Roomba in that it's a hockey puck-shaped device that cleans your floor and startles your pets. It's a little more than that, though — it can also mop the floor and add more water to the brand's Humidifier.
Chris Burns/SlashGear
The S10's claim to fame is that it can drain dirty mop water autonomously and refill itself through a series of docking stations that are connected to a water supply line in your house. In theory, when the S10 detects that it's dirty or out of water, it rolls up to a docking station and rids itself of the water through the drain of the sink or toilet it's connected to. Then, the supply line fills a reservoir in the docking station, which itself deposits it in the S10. According to SwitchBot, this process is entirely hands-free. The debris it vacuums up is deposited in another docking station that reportedly only needs to be emptied every 70 days. There's even another dock that dries and cleans the mop roller.
For homes with carpet and wood floors
SwitchBot's autonomous janitor is claimed to be safe on all types of floors and operates through LiDAR and AI to avoid obstacles and falling down the stairs like a robot turtle. It maps the room and sets up its own cleaning plan to efficiently get every speck of dirt possible. Users will also be able to set up virtual barriers and zones where the S10 isn't permitted via the app.
Chris Burns/SlashGear
The company's site notes that it takes only a few steps to get the docking station connected to the water supply and drain, and it offers multiple kits for different types of drains and water supplies. If no water supply is available, there is an optional external water tank that can be purchased. An exact price has not been announced ahead of its launch on Kickstarter on October 13. However, judging by the announced $400 discount given to early adopters, it's likely the S10's ecosystem won't be cheap.