Matic: The Smartest Robot Vacuum I've Met!

[@vacuumnerds]

Coolest Vacs of CES 2024! kzbin.info/www/bejne/epi5lpqrgrZ4ndE

[@ottot3221]

The thing is too high and can't vacuum under a lot of my furniture. Otherwise a cool idea.

[@Smedsters]

I’m surprised by the lack overall advertising and videos for the Matic. My reserved Matic is preparing to ship and I’ll receive it the first week of December. As an early adopter, I’m interested to see how long the water tank and dirt bag will actually last. My main floor where the Matic will be used is primarily hardwood with a couple of area rugs. With 5 cats, proper detection of toys and the accidental barf, etc. are crucial. I am preparing to return a Narwal Freo Z which has overall worked, however, obstacle detection still needs to be improved as the occasional cat mouse toy gets stuck in the brush.

[@vacuumnerds]

I haven't tested any robot that has better obstacle avoidance than the Narwal Freo Z yet. I'd love to test a Matic long term at some point.

[@ko5taki29]

same situation here i wanna return my narwal for this what do you think of it

[@Smedsters]

@@ko5taki29 I just posted over on Reddit: The only object avoidance issue I encountered with the Narwal was with a cat toy that consists of strands of fabric at the end of the stick. The Narwal, as well as Matic, never avoid it and suck it into the brush roller. The main floor of my house is mainly hardwood with several area rugs, both thick wool and low pile. In my experience, the Narwal has better fur pickup given its roller brush design compared to the Matic. I watched the Matic run over some fur that was very lightly pressed into the wool rug several times and never picked it up. I suppose this is a good time for me to elaborate on my frustrations with Matic thus far: 1. ⁠Edge cleaning: Matic does not conduct edge cleaning and is a feature they are working on. Of all the robots I’ve used, it cleans the furthest away from walls and edges of furniture. 2. ⁠Toe Kick cleaning: Matic does not conduct any toe kick cleaning and according to Matic is a feature they will begin rolling out by the end of the year. I’m curious to see how they handle this given the design of the hardware and small side brush that extends out when the Matic is conducting its final “edge” clean of a room… which is about 6”+ away from the actual edge, at best. In the meantime, all pet fur and dirt are safe hiding beneath the toe kick with no fear of being caught. 2a. Speaking of being caught, there is no dirt detection sensor built-in what so ever. I confirmed this with Matic. All detection is done with vision. Matic will never know if it needs to spend additional time vacuuming an area or not. 3. Poop avoidance: Doesn’t exist. Matic has run over poop several times causing the diaper bag inside to reek of crap. Imagine poop being collected inside of the bag and then mixed with water as the Matic mops the floor. Mmmmmm yummy. Sure does smell nice and fresh! At this point I have to inject that other members of my household are not fans of Matic and do not want it running when we’re not home. I agree with them completely. I have yet to have Matic conduct a full 1,300 square foot clean of the same area Narwal would complete without intervention. What took Narwal 2.5 hours to clean is, at best, taking Matic 4.5 to 5 hours. Much of this is attributed to how Matic has to first vacuum and then mop whereas Narwal can do it all at the same time. Matic currently vacuums rooms in one direction first and then vacuums the entire room running in the opposite direction. This criss cross behavior alone doubles the amount of time to clean the same space whereas Narwal could do it in one pass. According to Matic, this is deliberate in order to ensure complete cleaning. I can understand the intent but I’m currently not a fan given the fact I can’t event complete a cleaning job without issues arising. Watching the figure eight pattern that Matic cleans in when turning around is exhausting to watch knowing how efficient Narwal is. Matic is aware of this and working on enhancing its cleaning pattern. 4. The first evening I ran Matic, it had a difficult time navigating beneath my bed as it was mapping the room. Given its camera-only navigation beneath the bed, it’s easy to understand how it could struggle. I also gained a nice scratch on the top plastic housing of Matic because of it getting stuck and me needing to retrieve it from its confusion. 5. It’s louder than the Narwal Freo Z Ultra. You can definitely work from home with the Narwal working. Matic is louder. 6. Untangling something stuck in the roller is rather easy, however, DO NOT flip Matic upside down with liquid in the diaper bag. The liquid, especially the poop soaked slop that I had in my first bag, will saturate the top of the bag when it’s upside down. Shortly after, Matic told me to replace the bag and it wasn’t even half full. Don’t know if flipping it upside down cause this premature alert or not. I’m not on my second bag. 7. The water tank, according to Matic, should last up to 1,300 square feet. This is perfect as the hardwoods on my main floor total that amount. Unfortunately, I have yet to have a single cleaning job where I could test whether or not the water tank would be enough given the job interruptions with various issues and brush jams with cat toys. 8. I’ve had issues with app connectivity and the Matic which they apparently continue to work on. As I write this, the app cannot connect to the Matic. Oh wait, it finally just did after trying again. Definitely not a consistent experience. 9. Height: Height of the Matic hardware is definitely a disadvantage. I thought I would be able to get over this but with the slew of other issues I’ve encountered in such a short time, I’ve become less apt to over look this design limitation. With five cats, completing a full clean every day to collect the fur around and beneath all furniture with no intervention is a must for me and something Narwal has been able to accomplish. Matic, not so much. 10. Beta testing: My greatest frustration is with being sold an item and not being told of its many limitations that cause it to lag behind the majority of other robot vacuums on the market today. I suppose this is why reviews of Matic online are virtually nonexistent. Reviewing their website, you are made to believe that Matic will do the same job, if not better, than the competition. That was my expectation at least and why I purchased two. I am grateful for how easy it is to converse with the Matic team and their willingness to help and share their future road map but come on, poop detection won’t come to us until the second half of 2025? Yeah, no. I’ll beta test free hardware but otherwise I need a reliable machine that just gets the job done. I love tech and have high hopes in Matic but they really did do their initial customers a disservice with the undercooked version of firmware they shipped Matic with. Soooo much opportunity. Sadly, I’m not sure how much progress I’ll see within my limited 30-day return period. 11. On a positive note, the visual map of my house in the app is fantastic. I have no issues with it so far. 12. Editing room walls, merging rooms, etc. do not exist and are to be released in future updates. My Dining Room was two rooms with no way to resolve this. Fortunately, I was able to trick Matic into adding a new room at the existing Dining Room and it merged the two rooms into the single room it should have originally been mapped as. My Laundry Room is still a part of the Hallway as one large room. My Great Room is split in two, with one half being a part of an adjacent hallway. The Powder Room is not separate and a part of the Foyer. In the meantime, it is what it is. Frustrating. 13. I’ve talked with Matic about current cleaning job enhancements which they are onboard with and currently working on several. It’s possible to edit current cleaning jobs and skip the next room or add a room, however, you cannot have Matic only vacuum one room and then vacuum AND mop another. It’s one option for all rooms. 14. Brush Roller: Fur collects at the ends of the cleaning brush and requires occasional cleaning. That’s it for now. I’m happy to answer any additional questions.

[@ECASirk]

The image-based environment mapping isn't new - Dyson's 360 Eye robot vacuum does exactly the same with a single 360 degree camera, and they released that a whole decade ago in 2014. I'm also not a fan of the disposable bag used here, but the wet and dry vacuuming is a plus. In any case, it's way out of my price range but still fun to see.

[@vacuumnerds]

Not new, but processing power is vastly higher than it was a decade ago. Hopefully I’ll get to play with one soon.

[@ric6411]

Nice job. Best vacuum video I’ve watched.

[@vacuumnerds]

Wow, thank you

[@vacuumkiduy]

Where to buy this

[@vacuumnerds]

direct on their website maticrobots.com

[@Lloggz]

can you test the bissell spinwave next

[@vacuumnerds]

Great suggestion. The robot or the mop?

[@Lloggz]

mop@@vacuumnerds

[@victorial6314]

No comparison or similarity but good request

[@vacuumnerds]

Here you go! kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3qti6aNadxjfJIsi=qWgCWT5d7L-ALF1r

[@maticrobots]

AMAZING review of Matic! 🔥 Thank you! 👏

[@vacuumnerds]

Thanks for taking the time to meet me

[@zaphodbeeblebrox2817]

Some people think in the future a humanoid robot will just use an upright vacuum LOL

[@vacuumnerds]

That future sounds like you will need a massive amount of money!

[@lisandroCT]

I love the idea of a fully offline robovac. But for that price, it better be Matter and Home Assistant compatible.

[@vivekbagaria3324]

Yes, that's our plan too.

[@vacuumnerds]

I think if it's going to be compatible with an assitant, it will need to connect to the internet. There is an app you saw in the video, and Matic says they are working on expanding its ability to respond to a lot more voice commands. Perhaps Matic will provide an internet connection option in the future. If there are updates from Matic, I'll try to cover them.

[@lisandroCT]

@@vacuumnerds I'm asking compatibility with Home Assistant. Fully local. No internet.

[@vacuumnerds]

Gotcha. I'm sure Matic is reading these comments.

[@mehulnariyawala9663]

@@lisandroCT we intend to do it as long as Home Assitant doens't reuqire us to share your data. Thanks!

[@monkeyrun]

as much as I like the idea of a quiet robot vacuum, there's simply not enough information out there for me to think it'll work as advertise.

[@vacuumnerds]

Hopefully I'll get one to review in my home, but that's probably a few months off

[@monkeyrun]

@@vacuumnerds yeah hope to see more 3rd party reviews, as of right now I can't justify dropping $1500 on an unproven product.

[@MandrakeRoomba]

finally, a fresh breath of air after countless roborock clones ın the market.

[@vacuumnerds]

I think it's great that there is a US company making a robot vacuum with software that seems to be well ahead of the competition.

[@AnthonyGale]

Nothing about this vacuum is new. The way this video was presented made it sound like the creators invented sliced bread.

[@revmatchtv]

There’s a lot new here actually. Some other robots promise these things, but they don’t work well.

[@seanl8930]

Way too expensive even with a discount. There are already robovac's out there by the way that can see cords as small as a centimeter. Come on! This doesn't even self clean like others do at this price. I've never had any trouble getting my robovac to see where it is in space either. They're asking 1800 dollars for this full price when the other brands are offering way more advanced features. Skip this and wait till it goes on sale for what it's actually worth.

[@vacuumnerds]

It's on the expensive side, but there are even more expensive robots on the way from the big names this year if you can believe it.

[@seanl8930]

@vacuumnerds they're the same price as this one from what I heard of whats coming at CES but those are discounted if you buy them now. But they offer a lot more unique features than this thing does. So as far as the bang for your buck goes from the major competitors I don't get how this stands out as you have to break your back to take care of it.

[@seanl8930]

If it cleaned itself and self emptied etc I would be interested In it at this price frame

[@victorial6314]

A bigger, bulkier, more expensive, not as powerful waste!! I’ll stick with my s9+ with silhouette cameras, cord, sock, and pet waste detection, laser, and other useful features at around $1k. No forcing customers to continue purchasing those bags since the s9+ self-empties into a larger bin that, for those ‘Penney-pinchers’, the bin bag can be emptied and reused…each last about a month, not week like this ‘matic’. My s9+ tells my Braarva m6 when it’s done vacuuming so the m6 can start mopping. The m6 offers both reusable pads and/or disposable. Just like some higher-end robot vacuums, you can program both s9 & m6 to only vacuum in certain areas while blocking it as many areas as desired. The height of the two make it nice to discreetly hide it under places like cabinets, beds, etc… why would anyone waste over $1700 on the ‘matic’ (not the most creative name) You can buy BOTH s9 $ m6 for less, and these are iRobot’s top models!

[@vacuumnerds]

Appreciate the comment! There's a lot of competition in the robot space!

[@michaelplaczek9385]

The coolest I seen was the Ascender (currently...no word from team making it)

[@vacuumnerds]

This is what I found on the Ascender Kickstarter page: "Pledges made to The 'MIGO Ascender - The Stair-Climbing Robot Vacuum' have been refunded. The project will remain hidden from public view indefinitely. Backers of this project should check their email for a correspondence from Kickstarter for more details."

[@giosasso]

There's no reason for a vacuum to connect to the internet to work. None!

[@Theloverboy2987]

I disagree. They will need software updates.

[@MandrakeRoomba]

@@Theloverboy2987 we didnt need them a decade ago and some work better than today

[@neonparadise3095]

If you intend cleaning your home and leave shoes, clothes spread on the floor and hope for a miracle you're bloody lazy, the problem it's technology the problem is you.

[@vacuumnerds]

Kids don't always clean up and you still need to vacuum

it's cool, but it's too tall!

[@vacuumnerds]

Good observation

[@Anonymous-m9f9j]

Bags are a non-starter. The revo just barely gets a pass because you can trim the bag seal And use a long flat clip to reseal it so you don’t need to buy replacements and throw out perfectly fine bags. We shouldn’t be encouraging ridiculous consumables on these things during the short warranty periods they come with. Consumers should be pushing for 5year minimum warranty and a consumableless or user replaceable/repairable standard side brushes, rollers etc

[@vacuumnerds]

Bags give you much better air quality though, and that's a priority for some buyers. If you don't like bags, there are bagless options to keep operating costs down. Fortunately, there is a lot of competition in the vacuuum world.

[@Anonymous-m9f9j]

@@vacuumnerds it would be good to see some testing and numbers on the so called cleaner air coming from bags and filters. My hunch is after a couple of runs it goes out the window.

[@smiert13]

Dead on arrival... Too big, too expansive, can't empty/refill itself... Next gen robots have direct plumbing.

[@vacuumnerds]

Personally, I do not want plumbing on a robot as there is cost and complexity to install it. However, that style of robot is popular in Asia.

[@Tangsters]

Matic isn’t doing anything my roomba does. Except $1k more.

[@vacuumnerds]

It's got a premium price, but it's got competition priced even higher. Curious to see how it does for them.