DJI’s next trick could be a surprise robot vacuum – and no, it sadly won’t fly upstairs – Lovablevibes | South Africa | Nigeria | Africa

A leaked image suggests DJI could be planning to launch a robot vacuum
It could be called the DJI Romo and combine a vacuum and mop
It’s early days for rumors but DJI has been entering new markets lately

From e-bikes to power stations, DJI has been dipping its toes into new waters this year – and it could soon make a particularly surprising leap into robot vacuums, according to new rumors.

According to a leaked image from @JasperEllens (picked up by DroneNR and Notebookcheck) the so-called DJI Romo vacuum seemingly exists, in prototype form at least.

Whether the Romo actually makes it to production remains to be seen, but given DJI’s recent record of branching out from making the best drones, it certainly wouldn’t be a huge leap. A robot vacuum would also, on paper, combine a lot of its existing tech.

DJI currently makes robots like the RoboMaster S1, drones with advanced obstacle-avoidance systems like the DJI Mavic 3 Pro, and cameras with advanced Lidar-based autofocus like the DJI Ronin 4D. The only thing that’s really missing from the tech mix is the cleaning powers of the best robot vacuums.

I can’t stop laughing.@DJIGlobal actually made the #DJIROMO. The vacuum cleaner they registered a year ago. What will it do? Fly up the stairs? And the key question, will it come with LiDAR? That’s it guys, I am out… hahahaha pic.twitter.com/9BcvJjQscCNovember 1, 2024

Given this is the only leak we’ve seen so far, the DJI Romo remains highly speculative, but it seems we can expect a combined robot vacuum and mop with features like individual room controls and pet detection.

The only thing we’re pretty confident of ruling out is a flying robot vacuum with propellors (which the leaked image appears to back up). That is unless DJI has quietly absorbed some of the team behind the bonkers Ring Always Home Cam (below), a flying security cam that never saw the light of day.

Why a robot vacuum?

The Ring Always Home Cam (above) never landed officially – and we feel confident in ruling out a flying DJI robot vacuum. (Image credit: Ring)

DJI has never been shy about barging into new markets and disrupting them with its consistently impressive tech – and while the DJI Romo may ultimately be just another of its wild prototypes, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see DJI launch a robot vacuum in 2025.

The move towards diversifying its product lineup seems to have coincided with the increasing heat it’s been feeling from US regulators about its flying cameras and the supposed security risks they pose.

A full DJI ban has fortunately never materialized, but the rumblings seem likely to continue under the new Trump administration in 2025 – which means we can expect to see it continue to branch out next year beyond its Avinox Drive System for e-bikes.

Disrupting the robot vacuum market may also seem more appealing since Amazon’s iRobot takeover bit the dust earlier this year, which means there’s no clear dominant player. Our best robot vacuums guide contains a wide mix of brands, from Ecovacs to Narwal (pictured at the top of this page).

Another rumor that’s much closer to DJI’s home turf is that it could soon gate-crash the world of the best 360 cameras with a rival to Insta360 and GoPro. That’s just one of the many rumored DJI launches we’ve seen recently, which have also included an Osmo Mobile 7 phone gimbal, Mavic 4 drone, and a Mic Mini microphone – which now looks likely to be launched on November 26, according to DJI’s own teaser.

That’s quite the roll call of new tech – and who knows, maybe it’ll be crowned in 2025 by a new rival for the likes of Eufy, iRobot, Narwal, and Roborock.