Robot engineers have tackled the long-standing debate over what a robot vacuum should be—ultra-slim to slide under furniture or heavy and powerful enough to scrub away stubborn stains. Their Roomba Duo concept resolves the dilemma head-on: the company simply packed one vacuum inside another.
The main robot handles open floor areas. It is a massive unit on large wheels, equipped with a self-cleaning 60 mm roller, steam delivery, and a substantial 4.7 kg of downward pressure. But as soon as a low-clearance sofa blocks its path, a built-in mechanical arm deploys a separate mini-robot, the Roomba Plus 575 Combo, which stands just 8.35 cm tall. The smaller unit uses retractable brushes to clear dust from tight corners, climbs back onto the mother ship, and the entire setup returns to the base station to wash rollers, drain dirty water, and empty debris.
While the engineering ambition is evident, in practice, this two-tier design looks like a pragmatist's nightmare. Instead of one reliable machine, you get a double set of consumables, two separate batteries, a complex mechanical arm, and failure points at every docking step. If this concept ever reaches store shelves, the price tag will likely be astronomical. In the real world, running a regular mop under the bed once a month remains vastly cheaper and far less troublesome than maintaining a miniature domestic aircraft carrier.