Why Sweepy the vac bot deserved a better trainer

This isn’t the robot’s fault. Dyson asked us to trial its Vis Nav Robot Vacuum.

We soon realised it has a limited learning algorithm and it’s not designed to rule the world.

The problem has been ours. We have been treating him like a household pet and we forgot to teach him manners.

Our electronic cleaning device was given a name (Sweepy) and a pesonality before he was even out of the box. Dyson Vis Nav is expensive to buy (€1,299.99) and a relatively large object to have around the house (33 x 32cm).

While most home technology is unobtrusive, Dyson products have distinctive sci-fi styling.

Sweepy resembles a scaled-down tank in blue and red with nickel accents.

Another example, the Dyson Big+Quiet, is a gigantic (83cm high) air purifier that looks like a dalek from the 1970s.

Some say the designs look out of place in a neutral Scandi interior.

To give him his due, Sweepy is very good at his job. He gets right into the corners, works systematically from room to room, and the floors are far cleaner since he came on the scene.

He’s efficient at sucking up dry spillage, like porridge oats, without spreading the mess. We still use a stick vacuum for the occasional deep clean, but far less often than before.

Sweepy’s learning algorithm helps him navigate the house. When he’s cleaned an area once, he’ll return to it again. Even if it wasn’t a good idea. On the first day, he smashed the hinges off the kickboard to access the area under the kitchen units.

He’s a sturdy little chap but it was too much for him — it hadn’t been cleaned since the kitchen was installed. When his battery ran down we rescued him and screwed the kickboard back in place. Now, whenever he’s cleaning the kitchen, he batters at the units trying to get back in.

Better robovac owners would use the MyDyson app to establish boundaries and routines. With the app, you can set no-go zones to protect the device from hurling itself down steps or trying to clean the garden.

But, impatient with the number of apps in our lives, we failed in Sweepy’s training. Like inexperienced dog owners, we’ve no-one but ourselves to blame. At the time of writing, he’s hiding under our bed and we can’t coax him out.

In the future, many more aspects of home technology will be managed through algorithms. Their effectiveness depends on user interaction. “We don’t use enough of the technology that’s out there,” says Michael Connolly of Lomi Design. “There’s a learning curve for the end user and a lot of customers aren’t prepared to go there.”

In his experience, those who invest in integrated entertainment systems are motivated to learn how to use them but customers who like cooking and baking tend to be more traditional in their approach to technology. “People are quick on the uptake when it comes to the latest super-screen TV and embrace it quicker than a fancy oven. It depends on their priorities,” he says.

At the steaming edge of oven design, Siemens StudioLine ovens (from €1,400 to €3,700, depending on functionality) are wifi-enabled so that the user can upgrade their functionality. “Air fryers are the thing at the moment,” Connolly says. “You can upgrade your Siemens StudioLine oven to include an air fryer function, and all you’re doing is downloading the most recent version of an app.” The concept is brain-frying, but he claims the technology is easy to use.

Kitchens from Lomi Design start at €25,000 with most customers spending between €50,000 and €70,000, including appliances. But, even if you’re not in the market for a high-end kitchen, it’s worth taking a look at how the technology works. Because, sooner or later, some of this will filter down into the mainstream.

While many appliances use apps others, like the Bora X-BO oven (€6,950) also come with a touchscreen interface. “All of that tech is less of a mystery than it used to be,” Connolly says. “It was more of an issue where you had dials but the touchscreen interface is very intuitive now. That’s the way people learn to use their phones. They take them out of the box and just start using them. You don’t have to learn the manual. The appliance talks to you.”

Induction hobs have been around for a while but the most recent trend is to integrate the hob within the work surface so that it’s invisible when not in use.

The Gaggenau Essential Induction hob is designed to integrate with a Dekton countertop (a composite material made of porcelain, quartz stone and glass that looks like natural stone or marble). Instead of a defined cooking area, all you see is an uninterrupted countertop. As a kitchen reveal, it’s impressive. Look, no hob!

As Connolly explains, this is a clever juxtaposition of existing technologies: “Induction is a relatively old technology and people are used to induction hobs under glass. Putting a hob under what’s basically a ceramic surface isn’t too much of a stretch. Architects love them because of the uninterrupted surface but I don’t think they’re practical for your standard customer.”

In real life, invisible induction hobs are never quite as invisible as they seem in the photographs. “There’s always a control panel and a red LED light. You need to know where your cooking zone is!” Other brands like Inalco, available from Lomi Design, also offer “invisible induction technology”. Instead of a standard hob with four cooking zones, individual cooking zones can be placed freely within the worktop.

All technologies need early adopters but, for most of us, the best plan is to wait and see how other people get on. Some kitchen tech that once seemed weird and wonderful — like boiling water taps and down-draught extraction fans — are now almost standard.

In home entertainment, when Samsung’s The Frame TV debuted in 2017, it seemed like a long shot. How many people would want a television that displays digital art when not in use? Seven years on, it’s become a classic.

While The Frame started off with a limited selection of art, the Samsung Art Store now has a large gallery of famous paintings ranging from Van Gogh to Salvador Dali. Owners can access them through a subscription service which costs €5.57 per month on top of the price of the television (from €499 to €4,699 depending on size).

Interestingly, the most popular version of The Frame TV at Harvey Norman is the 75-inch screen (€2,599). Whatever about fancy kitchen tech, Irish people understand the value of a nice big television.

​See dyson.ie, lomi.ie, harveynorman.ie