Chinese robotic appliance company Ecovacs has launched a robot vacuum cleaner in South Korea that can clean floors and simultaneously wash its roller. Ecovacs plans to actively target the home robot market by additionally launching a window cleaning robot in the country within this year.
On the 5th, Ecovacs held a press conference for product launches at Conrad Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, unveiling the 'Deebot X8 Pro Omni.' This product features the newly developed 'Ozmo Roller' technology by Ecovacs. This technology is characterized by the water mop roller attached to the robot vacuum cleaner, which rotates up to 200 times per minute while wiping floors with a pressure of 4000 Pa (pascals), and automatically cleans the roller using clean water supplied through 16 water spray nozzles.
David Chen, CEO of Ecovacs, noted, "Considering that many consumers are dissatisfied with the water mop function of robot vacuum cleaners, we introduced a system that enables real-time 'self-cleaning' at high speed and high pressure for the mop," adding, "This resolves the problem of contaminants spreading elsewhere." The bottom of the vacuum features an automatic scraper that removes contaminated water and dust from the roller surface, expelling it into a wastewater tank before supplying clean water to the roller in a repetitive process. Furthermore, the artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm has been enhanced to more accurately recognize object contours and reconstruct room corners in three-dimensional images, ensuring that corners are not neglected during cleaning.
Ecovacs, which holds a 43% market share in the Chinese premium robot vacuum cleaner market, exceeded $2 billion (around 2.89 trillion won) in revenue as of 2023. CEO Chen said, "Ecovacs directly handles hardware and software design, including LiDAR sensors," adding, "Currently, we are carrying out more than 20 technology development projects, and our cumulative research and development (R&D) investment has exceeded $5.5 billion (about 7.97 trillion won)."
During the event, CEO Chen emphasized the importance of the South Korean market multiple times. He stated, "Korean consumers have a high interest and discerning eye for premium appliances," noting, "We consider the Korean market important and are not holding back on investment, and we plan to expand sales channels in collaboration with local distributors and improve after-sales service (AS)." Currently, the best-selling robot vacuum cleaner in the domestic market is a product from another Chinese corporation, Roborock.
Believing that the growth potential in the South Korean market is significant, Ecovacs plans to soon launch the fully automated window cleaning robot 'Winbot' following the robot vacuum cleaner. CEO Chen projected, "Just as there is high growth potential for floor cleaning robots, there is also significant demand for window cleaning robots in the South Korean market, which has many high-rise apartments."
While Ecovacs has expressed aspirations to target the South Korean home and commercial robot market, resolving the previously controversial security issues is regarded as the top priority. According to foreign reports, last year, a consumer in Minnesota, USA, experienced a hacking incident where the PIN code of the Ecovacs robot vacuum 'Deebot X2s' used at home was compromised, resulting in profanity being voiced. At last year's largest hacking conference, 'Def Con,' it was demonstrated that malware could be transmitted and user information could be leaked using the Bluetooth functionality of internet of things (IoT) devices, including Ecovacs robot vacuum cleaners.
CEO Chen addressed the hacking issue, stating, "We comprehensively checked the product's technical architecture and reinforced security at all possible levels," adding, "However, it was confirmed that this incident involved hacking the product locally, not accessing Ecovacs' cloud, so we engaged in discussions with the hacker to analyze security vulnerabilities and have undertaken improvements such as further strengthening Bluetooth and connection security levels."