DJI, the Shenzhen drone maker, has officially confirmed its first robot vacuum, Romo, will launch on 6 August, ending years of speculation and pulling one of China’s strongest robotics brands into the home-cleaning market.
Four years in the making
DJI first started a ground-cleaning robot project in 2020, and reports of an imminent launch have circulated since late 2024. The Romo family is expected to span standard, advanced and flagship tiers with features such as auto water refill, and pre-orders have already opened. DJI’s pitch leans on a simple question: if technology can explore the sky, can it also become the quiet force that takes care of the home.
A technology transfer, not a pivot
The engineering logic is direct. Drone path planning becomes cleaning-path planning, precise to the step. Obstacle avoidance becomes the ability to skirt furniture, pets and stray shoes. Strong motors that hold a drone steady become the force behind rollers and brushes. Lidar that helps a drone read the road becomes the sensor that helps a vacuum map the home. The capabilities DJI built for the air transfer cleanly to the floor.
A crowded, ruthless market
The opportunity is large but the competition is fierce. By gross merchandise value the global smart-vacuum market grew from 4.4 billion dollars in 2020 to 9.3 billion in 2024, a 20.6 per cent compound annual rate, and is projected to pass 25.2 billion dollars by 2029. IDC counted 20.6 million units shipped worldwide in 2024, up 11.2 per cent, with China at 5.39 million. Incumbents Ecovacs and Roborock hold the lead, while Dreame and Narwal climb on differentiation and traditional giants Midea and Haier push in from the side.
DJI has played in robots before, with education products such as Tello, RoboMaster and an AI kit, though it wound that business down at the end of 2023. This time the bet is consumer home robotics at scale, and the company’s track record suggests the category’s rules may not survive the entry unchanged.
Read the original report (OFweek Robotics)
Translated and adapted from OFweek Robotics (robot.ofweek.com).