Roborock, a prominent developer of intelligent vacuum cleaners, introduces its latest innovative product, the Roborock S6 MaxV. It's the first robot vacuum in the S-series lineup which includes a front stereo camera, allowing advanced obstacle recognition and avoidance technology called ReactiveAI. It's also the first robot vacuum which uses a powerful CPU APQ8053 from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. giving the MaxV cutting-edge on-device AI performance. The Roborock S6 MaxV is already available to buy on Amazon for $359.99.
Roborock kindly provided me the Roborock S6 MaxV for testing and in this review, I'll share my thought about this robot vacuum.
My S6 MaxV video review: navigation, cleaning tests, and app features demonstration
What is in the box
Like all the other Roborock models, the S6 MaxV is well packed in a nice glance box. There are not so many accessories in the box:
- Robot vacuum cleaner
- Water protecting mat
- Mopping pad
- Charging dock
- Standard figure 8 cable
- Washable HEPA filter
- App connection guide
- User guide
What's new in the S6 MaxV?
The most notable difference between the S6 MaxV and older S5 Max and S6 models is the front camera and the newest visual object recognition system. The camera allows the machine to recognize and avoid small objects. Another significant improvement - a new twice more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Chip. In pair with proprietary ReactiveAI technology, the new processor allows the robot to recognize and avoid objects faster and more efficiently.
Because of the stereo camera built-in, the robot can “see” and avoid small things which means pet owners and parents can run the robot with fewer worries than before knowing that it will not run over small kids' toys, pet poops, etc.
The advanced laser technology, in pair with the stereo camera, helps the S6 MaxV to estimate the size and location of common obstacles and calculate the most efficient way of cleaning around them.
- True Visual AI. Two cameras to recognize objects
- 25% more power than any other Roborock
- Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8053 chip, a powerful processor for quick objects recognition
- Avoiding even the smallest objects it can't recognize
- Full multi-map support (up to 4 floor maps)
Features
- An electronic water tank supplies the needed amount of water to the mopping pad providing as much water as the mopping task needs.
- A large 300 ml water container provides maximum mopping area up to 250 sqm
- Senses carpeted surface and boosts suction to provide better cleaning
- Recognizes objects on the floor and intelligently avoids them
- Allows setting the areas where it should and should not go
- Can be ordered to work in a particular room or two / clean within a certain zone
- Saves up to four different floor plans
- Recognizes which floor it is on
- Handles pet hair and is easy to maintain
- Thanks to the E11 grade HEPA filter, safe for those who have an allergy or asthma
- Works longer than most robot vacuums out there
- Calculates how much power it needs to finish cleaning so it saves time recharging before resuming cleaning
Advanced Navigation & Object Avoidance
- dual cameras recognize objects
- the robot avoids even those things it can't identify
- the best navigation in the industry got even more efficient
- powered by a powerful Qualcomm processor
The Roborock S6 MaxV is equipped with Lidar which in tandem with dual camera builds an accurate map of an interior. Once the map is created, the robot divides it into separate rooms in order to send the robot work in a particular room or two.
The most significant improvement is the dual camera.
Combined with the LDS sensor, it not only sees obstacles on its path, it also calculates their location and size rerouting its path around them. The camera captures detailed images at a maximum speed of 30 fps thanks to which the powerful processor recognizes and avoids common obstacles such as pet waste, shoes, scales.
Almost perfect navigation got even better.
«The seamless integration of ReactiveAI with our advanced laser technology allows the Roborock S6 MaxV to estimate the size and location of common obstacles and the best way to clean around them, setting the standard for our smartest navigational robot vacuum yet,» Richard Chang, CEO of Roborock said. «The powerful image processing technology behind it has led us to work with Qualcomm Technologies for the first time, a journey we are delighted to begin as we continue to imagine the next generation of robotic vacuums to navigate today’s world.»
The new Roborock is powered by a new processor, Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Chip. The machine has ReactiveAI technology which is learning hundreds of thousands of images so the robot knows what the object looks like and avoids it when senses one.
Dev Singh, senior director of business development and head of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said:
The advancements that Roborock has made in the Home Robotics industry these past years are remarkable. We’re thrilled to work with Roborock on their first product to launch with a stereo camera and a Qualcomm APQ8053 heterogeneous processor – powering the MaxV with cutting-edge on-device computation performance plus long-lasting battery life - in an effort to bring the next generation of innovative robot vacuums to life.
Dev Singh, senior director of business development at Qualcomm Technologies
ReactiveAI is trained on tens of thousands of images to learn about common objects and it’s all powered by a fast and powerful Qualcomm APQ8053 processor.
Even when it can't recognize an object down to as small as 5 cm wide and 3 cm tall, the S6MaxV passes by one. No more worry about a cup of coffee left, small toys, wires, etc.
The new improvements are going to make the Roborock S6 MaxV even more efficient than the previous generations were.
Battery
The Roborock is equipped with a 5,200 mAh battery which is able to provide up to 180 minutes of cleaning. Enough to cover a big area.
Even though the unit has a long-lasting battery, when the cleaning area is big, it might not be enough power to finish cleaning on one charge. Older models returned to the dock when the battery was 20% low, recharged up 80%, and resumed cleaning. That means you have to wait longer until the machine finishes cleaning. The new Roborock has smart Top-up technology. It calculates how much power the robot needs to finish cleaning so when the S6 MaxV is docking, it juices up to the level of power it needs to finish cleaning saving recharging time.
Mopping & how well the robot performs on hard floors
- A large water container provides up to 250 sqm of mopping area
- A mopping pad pressures to the floor ensuring better performance
- You can shut off suction if needed
- Schedule the robot to mop in a particular room
- Set no-mop zones to keep the machine off some areas
- Customize water output for each room
The Roborock S6 MaxV can do sweeping, mopping, sweeping and mopping at the same time.
You can customize suction power and water output for every room in the house including shutting off suction completely if needed. For example if you see wet stains I would suggest turning the suction off.
Getting back to mopping, the system is similar to what I have seen in the Roborock S5 Max. A big 300 ml water container which can cover up to 250 sqm (2690 sqft) of mopping area. Along with the water container, the robot has a mopping pad. The spring-loaded mop pushes the mop pad to the floor with approximately 300g of pressure which provides better mopping performance. The Roborock S5 Max was even able to get rid of stains which is rare for a hybrid robot vacuum.
To make stains I used a mix of cocoa and Coca Cola. I do not recommend (and so does the manufacturer) to add detergent into the water tank because it might lead to filter clogging. If you want, you can put some directly on the floor or on the mopping cloth. When testing mopping, I figured that to cover my cleaning area (53 square meters of the cleaning area) on high water output, the robot needs 170 ml of water. When it docked itself, I saw about 130 ml of water left in the tank, enough to go for another circle.
Keep in mind, this option will not replace actual mopping but if you use it as often as possible it will definitely help to keep maintaining your floors clean in between big jobs. I use this option a lot.
To make the Roborock avoiding a carpet, set no-mop zones which become active only with mopping attachments on.
Along with no-mop zones, you can create no-go zones. No-go zones are always active when set.
Another handy feature is the mopping schedule. By setting the S6 MaxV to mop a particular room, you can customize the suction level and water output depending on mopping tasks. Once the machine is docked, it switches water preventing leaking.
Roborock App
- set no-go/no-mop zones
- zoned cleaning to clean within a particular area
- room cleaning to send the robot to a specific toom
- customizable cleaning settings for each room
- full multimap managements
If you are already familiar with the Roborock and Mi Home apps, you probably know about the functions they have.
- Basic features allow to turn the robot on/off, schedule it to clean at a specific time, and send it to the dock.
Advanced options allow setting the robot to work within a specified area, keep it from entering some zones, order it to clean a room directly, or send it to a certain point on the map if needed.
You can set water output and strong suction if needed.
Let’s talk a bit about each. When the map is complete the robot automatically divides it into separate rooms. If you are not satisfied with the way your rooms divided, you can merge or divide it manually.
When you see the main screen, there is a «map settings» option where you can choose from setting no-go zones, edit rooms, and editing the map.
Another new feature is room sequence. Now you can prioritize which room to clean first and this feature is handy. If you sit in the bedroom and don’t want the robot to clean there just now, it can clean the other room.
My Roborock did an excellent job at diving the rooms so I almost didn’t have to change it. So far the Roborock app does not allow renaming rooms but the Mi Home does.
When the map is created you can turn on the multifloor maps if needed (keep in mind, when this feature is turned on, you can’t schedule the robot to clean a certain room).
I’ll talk about multimap later and explain how exactly it works. Unfortunately, for now you can’t schedule the robot to work in a particular room with multifloor on.
For instance, you can see the difference in schedule settings with and without multifloor:
With one map, you can set specific rooms to be cleaned.
I actually like the way scheduling work in the Roborock S6 MaxV. You can not only customize where and when the robot should clean but also set water output and suction level for each room.
You can also order the robot to clean specific rooms and from there you can run the robot up to three times in one room if you see it gets dirty quickly. For me, the kitchen is that room.
Zoned cleaning is another helpful feature that allows drawing an area you want the robot to clean.
Another convenient feature is no-go zones. You can set a barrier or draw a rectangle depending on the shape of the zone you want the Roborock to avoid.
And if the mopping attachments are on, you can also set no-mop zones that become inactive when you remove the mopping pad. With no-mop zones, the robot can avoid carpets in mopping mode.
The amount of no-go zones is unlimited and in addition, you can set how many times (up to three) the robot should clean this area.
Target Point sends the robot to a specific point on the map in order to clean there. Handy if you don’t want to use the remote control.
The app allows you to see cleaning history.
Last but not least is the camera-related features:
When turning those on I noticed significant improvement over obstacle recognition and avoidance.
Multilevel mapping & The robot for a multi-story house
- full multi-map management
- 4 floor plans to support
- recognizes automatically which floor the robot is on
We have been waiting for this for so long and finally, Roborock implemented full multi-map management. The new robot stores up to 4 floor plans. So how exactly is this work? I don’t live in a multi-level house but I wanted to test this out so I managed to create three maps in my small apartment.
To create the first map, I started the robot from the dock in my living room and close the door. When it has finished cleaning, it returned to the dock and created a new map. You have a few options here: to save it as a new map, restore from historical map, and update saved map. I haven’t tried the «restore historical map option». I think it just sets the already existing map.
At this point, my first level map (living room map) is created. The robot has returned to the dock and proposed me to update or restore the map.
I then placed the dock and robot to my bedroom. I started the robot from the dock and did absolutely the same. When it has finished, I have two created maps (read two maps for two floors).
«Update saved map» is a great feature if you want to remap a part of your house like one room or a part of your room so you don’t have to run the robot over the whole place.
The best feature about multimap which I didn’t realize is that you can create a map without having to move the dock even for the first time. For my third map, I placed the robot in the kitchen and started cleaning. Once it finished the job, the third map has been created which means you don’t have to move the dock to another level if needed.When the robot stops cleaning it returns to the point where it has started.
The thing with the charging dock. If you create a map with a dock being in the same room and start the robot from the dock and then move the dock to a different level, the robot will be running around the room looking for the base. In this case, you will have to remap the level.
If you start the robot from anywhere in your home (without a dock) to let the robot create a new map, it will clean, build the map and alert when it has finished proposing you to save the map as a new one if needed.
I find this extremely convenient. You don’t have to move the dock between the floors anymore, isn’t it great?
Update Aug 2020: The Roborock S6 MaxV received a new firmware update which brings a new feature: remote camera viewing. The remote camera allows you to monitor your house through the front camera in real-time. You can control the robot as a radio car and guide it to any room. You can also record and send a voice message (for example for your kid or pet when you are not at home). To protect your privacy, the robot alerting every few seconds that the remote camera is activated.
Roborock S6 MaxV cleaning at night (video from the front camera)
Is the Roborock S6 MaxV suitable for carpet?
- 25% more powerful
- identifies carpets & provides better cleaning
- with a washable HEPA filter, the robot is safe for those who have allergy & asthma
- handles pet and human hair well
Because of stronger suction, the newest model provides better cleaning performance on medium-pile carpets catching pet and human hair, and dust hid deep in carpets. Of course, it is not as strong as a good upright vacuum, but in the world of robot vacuums, it's definitely one of the best in terms of cleaning performance. If you are planning to use it at least 3 times a week, your carpets will be pretty clean. The new model is 25% more powerful than its predecessors delivering 2,500 Pa of suction (compared to 2,000 Pa other Roborock robots have).
Unfortunately, I don't have any pets, but my friends who own the Roborock so happy how it helps with handling pets hair especially if your dogs or cats are shedding. The Roborock S6 MaxV has a washable E11 HEPA filter and is safe for everyone suffering from allergy or asthma.
The S6 MaxV identifies carpet. Once it senses one, the robot boosts suction to the max level to provide the best cleaning results.
The cleaning brush has lots of bristles to pick up things and also detachable side tips to make hair removal easier. The same as with the previous models, the newest Roborock can climb an obstacle up to 20 mm (0.79 in) tall which means smooth passing by thresholds and thick carpets. I would recommend ensuring your carpets and door thresholds are lower than 20 mm so you can be sure it can reach all the rooms.
Where to buy the Roborock S6 MaxV?
- It’s already available on Amazon.com for $359.99.
About Roborock
Roborock has been producing robot vacuums for about 6 years. Founded in July 2014, Beijing Roborock Technology Co., Ltd. (Roborock) specializes in the research, development, and production of products that make people's lives more comfortable. The company develops and produces robot vacuums under its Roborock brand, as well as creating robot vacuums for one of China’s largest technology companies, Xiaomi.
Currently, Roborock is available in 40 countries, including the U.S., Germany, France, and Spain. The company operates out of four locations, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.
Read more about the Roborock S6 MaxV on the official Roborock website.
To know more about Roborock, feel free to visit its official website and join the unofficial Roborock community on Reddit.