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Todays robot vacuum cleaners are more intelligent that ever, they can map your home, use AI to get around and some can even empty themselves. But the path to such advanced robots has been a long one, spanning over two decades since the first products were invented. In this guide, we’ll break down the products history and some statistics about robot vacuum cleaner market today.
When Was the Robot Vacuum Cleaner Invented?
The first robot vacuum cleaner was invented in 1996 and was called the Electrolux Trilobite. It ran on rechargeable batteries and had a remote control to operate.
It used ultrasonic radar to make its way around a room, as opposed to infrared or laser systems we know today. It was first shown on BBC’s tomorrows world in 1997 as shown in this video.
When Was the First Roomba Launched?
With roots in robots for the military and space exploration, iRobot was one of the pioneers of the modern-day robot vacuum with its Roomba line of devices. Colin Angle, co-founder of iRobot, said that the algorithm used in the Roomba was the same as the one used in mine hunting devices.
The first Roomba was launched in 2002, the range consisted of the Roomba, Roomba Pro and Roomba Pro Elite. It is widely seen as the first robot vacuum to achieve commercial success.
The term Roomba is often used interchangeable with the term robot vacuum cleaner. This is reminiscent of Hoover being used interchangeably for traditional vacuum cleaners.
History of Robot Vacuum Cleaners
Here is the most complete timeline that charts the history of the robot vacuum cleaner:
Global Statistics about Robot Vacuum Cleaners Today
According to Grand View Research1, the robot vacuum cleaner market was worth $2.56 billion in 2019 (about £2billion) and is expected to grow by around 17.7% each year until 2027.
Asia pacific is the largest market for robot vacuum cleaners with a 36.2% share of the global market in 2019, and it is expected to grow at the fastest rate over the next 7 years1.
67.3% of consumers buy robot vacuum cleaners in store, compared to 32.7% buying online1.
We spend, on average, 40 hours a year vacuuming our homes4.
According to Google Trends, interest in robot vacuum cleaners has seen consistent growth over the last 5 years, with peaks each year around black Friday.
These are the top robot vacuum cleaner manufacturers in the world1:
- iRobot, Massachusetts, US
- Ecovacs Robotics, Suzhou, China
- Xiaomi, Beijing, China (in partnership with Roborock, Beijing, China)
- Shark Ninja, Massachusetts, US
- Neato Robotics, California, US
- Cecotec Innovaciones S.L. Valencia, Spain
- Panasonic, Osaka, Japan
- Samsung, Suwon-Si, South Korea
- Dyson, Wiltshire, England (soon to be Singapore)
According to Colin Angle, co-founder of iRobot, 25% of all money spent on vacuum cleaners is spent on robot vacuum cleaners.
Statistics About Robot Vacuum Cleaners in the UK
Here are some facts and statistics specific to the robot vacuum cleaner market in the UK:
- The UK, along with Germany, are the biggest markets for robot vacuum cleaners in Europe
- The UK is home to only one of the biggest manufacturers of Robot Vacuum cleaners, Dyson
- Ecovacs and Eufy top Amazon’s best-sellers list in robot vacuum cleaners in the UK
Sources:
- Grand View Research Market Report
- Robotics Business Report News Article – iRobot and SharkNinja Sue Each Other
- iRobot Company History
- Bosch Robot Vacuums
Featured Image Credit: Patrik Tschudin / CC BY
