Dyson unveiled its first robot vacuum cleaner Thursday in Japan, 14 years after plans to develop the device were revealed.
While similar machines are made by Samsung, Hoover, iRobot, Vileda and Neato, the British engineering firm said the Dyson 360 Eye has greater suction and is more capable of finding dirt, according to BBC News.
"We've been developing for a number of years some of the smallest and most powerful digital motors available, and getting that right has enabled us to give the machine very powerful suction, so it can have a very high performance clean," said Nick Schneider, design engineer at Dyson.
"In addition, we've developed a vision system that enables the machine to be very methodical in its clean and not miss sections of floor space," he added.
A panoramic camera is featured on top of the robot for directing the machine around the house and cleaning rooms before traveling back to its docking station, the Daily Mail reported. The cleaner also comes with infrared sensors that keep it from bumping into furniture and other objects.
Users can schedule times for cleaning with a smartphone app, which allows the machine to start cleaning even when no one is home. The vacuum is powered by a V2 Dyson digital motor, and is able to separate dust from dirt with Dyson's bagless cyclone technology.
Engineers at Dyson spent the last two years working on the 5.2-pound cleaner, along with 28 million pounds on its research and development. Sir James Dyson, creator of Dyson 360 Eye, said at the launch event that most vacuum cleaners can't see their environment, and that his machine gets 360 degree views that let it know where it is, where it was, and where it is going to clean, Daily Mail reported.
"Vision, combined with our high speed digital motor and cyclone technology, is the key to achieving a high performing robot vacuum- a genuine labor saving device," he said.
The camera can take up to 30 images per second of a room, and the cyclone technology allows the machine to capture particles as small as 0.5 microns. The cleaner has a battery life of 20 to 30 minutes, and will return to its docking station when it needs to be recharged.
The Dyson 360 Eye is the company's second attempt at creating a robot vacuum cleaner, the first being the DC06 developed in 2001, BBC News reported. However, the project was cancelled a few years later because customers would have had to pay at least $3,000 for it.
The cleaner is set to be available in Japan in early 2015, and then it will be released in other countries later in the year. The new model's price has yet to be revealed.
