HomeRun: Philips promises effortless clean floors for three weeks with its latest robot

Philips is trying to catch up on the robot vacuum cleaner market and is launching with the HomeRun 9000 Series XU9100/10 its first model with fully automated maintenance, or almost. It is in any case delivered with a new station which can not only empty its collector like that of the HomeRun 7000 Seriesbut also wash your mop and fill your water tank. And the new Philips robot is also entitled to a new washing system, which is still not very common on the market.

Up to 3 weeks of completely independent cleaning

To fulfill all these functions, the station of this HomeRun Series 9000 integrates a 3l dust bag and 3.5l and 2.7l clean and dirty water tanks. According to Philips, the first is sufficient to support up to 7 weeks of cleaning, but the second should still be filled and emptied every 3 weeks. Let us point out in passing that the station can also dry the mop with hot air (50°C) after washing it, but washing seems to be done at room temperature whereas hot water is becoming more common among the competition for more great efficiency.

A roller to wash the floor…

It must be said that the station should not provide much during washing, the robot relying on a self-cleaning roller system rather than on a mop per se. We have already encountered this system on the Switchbot S10 : the roller rotates along small tanks of clean and dirty water which are directly integrated into the robot, and which allow it to be rinsed continuously to ensure that the part in contact with the floor is always clean. In any case, that’s the promise; the Chinese robot had not completely convinced us. So let's hope that Philips does a little better. While waiting to be able to test it, we can in any case add that it can raise this mop roller to vacuum the carpets without wetting them for complete cleaning of the house in one pass.

…but no camera to identify obstacles

The HomeRun Series 9000 is a little more classic in terms of suction, but it still promises to be the most powerful Philips robot to date and promises to automatically get rid of hair that wraps around its main brush thanks to an integrated comb. And to allow it to go anywhere in the house, it can not only count on a generous 6500 mAh battery, but also on a host of sensors including a LiDAR on the front.

Thanks to the latter, the robot can more accurately map the house and optimize its movements, while the frontal position prevents it from sticking out on top like most competing models. The latest HomeRun thus measures (a little) less than 10 cm high and should be able to pass under furniture more easily. Philips adds that its robot can detect obstacles 2.5 cm and larger, but is not very clear on the sensors implemented. It appears to primarily use LiDAR. In any case, no camera is planned. One is found on most competing high-end robots; it allows them to identify certain obstacles to adapt their avoidance strategy.

The HomeRun 9000 series was launched at a price of €1199. There are certainly more expensive models, but also cheaper ones with similar or even more complete equipment.