Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra Intelligently Avoids Chaos And Remote Patrols Your Home

This content was paid for by Roborock and written by SlashGear.

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra can vacuum, mop, and empty itself while it's docked and charging. This robot has a "DuoRoller Riser" brush system that's made to handle pet fur and long hair, and it has an extendable "FlexiArm" to reach under low obstacles and provide 100% corner coverage — there's an extendable "extra edge" mop spinner here, too. The device's "VibraRise 3.0 Mopping System" conducts high-speed scrubbing at a rate of 4,000 times per minute! But that's not the most interesting part about this robot vacuum.

Roborock's latest top-tier cleaner has a new camera paired with sensors that enable "Reactive AI 2.0 Obstacle Recognition." This system allows the device to avoid key household obstacles and otherwise bad-to-vacuum objects. Take for example your long-haired dog that likes to take naps in the middle of the living room — your pet shouldn't be at risk of being tangled in the gears of a robot vacuum.

And it's not only pets — the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra's AI obstacle avoidance system takes care to avoid all ground obstacles as much (or as little) as you'd like. Reactive Obstacle Avoidance, Less Collision Mode, and Pet avoidance are all options that can be adjusted in the robot's app. This is quite possibly the most intelligent robot vacuum yet.

Most robot vacuums available to the public today use a simple physical impact or proximity sensor system to identify obstacles. Place a cardboard box in your robot vacuum's path and watch it bounce, turn, bounce, turn, and so forth, until it finds its way around the box. The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra sees what's in front of it and avoids obstacles before it needs to interact with them. It also maps those objects and sends that information to you through the Roborock app so you can take care of the obstacle before it becomes a problem.

Each time the robot identifies one of a long list of known obstacles, it marks the spot on the map that you can see in the Roborock app. If it sees a pair of shoes (that might have loose laces that could become entangled in the robot's gears), a shoe icon appears in the app on the map, and the shoes are avoided.

While Roborock's robot vacuums have had object-avoidance systems before, it's the transparency and communication of what the S8 MaxV Ultra is responding to which makes it stand out.

The camera on the front of this vacuum can be used as a viewport through the official Roborock app. You can use this vacuum as a one-way call system to patrol your home or say hello to your pets. The image recognition system in this robot allows it to identify objects and collect photos of objects, too — if you want.

According to the app, by default, the robot does not collect any imagery anywhere other than onboard its local robot self. Roborock assures the user that all imagery is encrypted and does not leave the robot unless the user wishes to see the imagery collected by the robot (with features called "Obstacle Photos" and "Pet Snaps"). If you want to download an image, Roborock's app suggests that "the encrypted photo will be transmitted to your phone through the server" and will be "deleted from the server within 3 working days."

If you're looking for a single reason why you should buy a new robot vacuum, the ability to remotely patrol your home and snap fun photos of your pets might well be it. Intelligent cleaning, object avoidance, and automatic capture of fun pet photos — what more could you want?

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra will be released in April 2024 for approximately $1,799.99, and the company is currently offering a 5-year warranty and two complimentary accessory packages.