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Dyson put someone else’s motor in its robot vacuum
Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Tech News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News Robot Close Robot Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Robot Dyson put someone else’s motor in its robot vacuum The $1,200 Spot + Scrub Ai robot vacuum ditches Dyson’s motor and navigation tech for third-party solutions — a first for the company. The $1,200 Spot + Scrub Ai robot vacuum ditches Dyson’s motor and navigation tech for third-party solutions — a first for the company. by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Close Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Senior Reviewer, Smart Home Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy May 1, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC Link Share Gift If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Dyson ’ s newest robot vacuum adds mopping capabilities but takes away the Dyson motor of its predecessor. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Close Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy is a senior reviewer with over twenty years of experience. She covers smart home, IoT, and connected tech, and has written previously for Wirecutter , Wired , Dwell , BBC , and US News . Dyson, a company built on engineering high-speed motors, has confirmed to The Verge that its newest robot vacuum doesn’t use a Dyson motor. The recently launched Spot & Scrub Ai robot vacuum and mop was “co-engineered,” Nathan Lawson McLean, senior design manager at Dyson, told The Verge . According to Lawson McLean, the device merges “new and already existing Dyson technologies with other platforms.” Specifically, the new lidar-based navigation tech and the robot’s vacuum motor were developed by a third party. “It’s not one of our V10 motors; it’s one of our partner technologies,” said Lawson McLean. “It’s not one of our V10 motors, it’s one of our partner technologies.” — Nathan Lawson McLean The fact that Dyson had help with its newest robot vacuum was suspected from the day it was announced late last year. The Spot + Scrub is a complete departure from Dyson’s previous models and has obvious similarities to other robot vacuums on the market. But this is the first time Dyson has admitted that it had help building its flagship robot vacuum . Outsourcing manufacturing of key components is far from unusual in the world of robot vacuum manufacturers or manufacturing in general. But for a company that built its brand on high-speed motors and cyclonic vacuum technology, it’s a surprising move. The Dyson Spot + Scrub is Dyson’s first robot vacuum with a multifunctional dock that can empty the robot’s bin, wash its mop, drain and refill its water tanks. So, why did Dyson ditch its signature technology for its latest robot vacuum? Speed and cost, according to Lawson McLean. “We really wanted to enter the market in this new space of wet and dry and self-emptying,” he said. “And how could we quickly do that?” The answer: Get help. While Dyson has been developing robotic floor-cleaning machines since the early 2000s , it’s years behind Chinese competitors like Roborock and Ecovacs, and even US-based iRobot, maker of the Roomba. The latter made a similar pivot from vision-based navigation to lidar last year, working with the Chinese original design manufacturer Shenzhen Picea Robotics to produce an entirely new line of Roombas . Dyson would not confirm which partner it worked with, but Reddit sleuths and industry observers have identified it as Picea, which also works with Xiaomi, Anker (Eufy), and Shark, among others. (Picea recently purchased iRobot following its bankruptcy.) Related Dyson finally made a better robot, but a worse vacuum I didn’t expect to love Dyson’s PencilVac Fluffycones – but I did Dyson’s 360 Vis Nav is a powerful robovac, but it’s the brush that tickles me the most Dyson’s previous attempt at robot vacuums — including the 360 Eye and the 360 Vis Nav — featured Dyson high-speed motors . They were excellent vacuums, but they struggled with navigating autonomously. Both bots used camera-based vSLAM navigation, which was slow and unreliable. With the Spot + Scrub, Dyson worked with “a partner” to add the more reliable lidar-based navigation tech. Based on reviews , it has been a big upgrade. The shift was clearly needed to keep the company competitive in a crowded market. But, in the process, they also dropped Dyson’s best feature: its powerful motor. Lawson McLean claims this tradeoff only tells half the story. “We never look at motors by themselves. […] the ducting, the inlet pressure, outlet pressure, etc. of the Spot +
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