Premium Era of Robot Vacuum Cleaners... Samsung vs LG Form Factor Competition

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Samsung and LG Electronics have announced a full-scale showdown in the robot vacuum cleaner market in the second half of this year. They plan to introduce high-performance premium products that not only develop new form factors but also enhance artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to capture customers.

According to the industry on the 26th, Samsung Electronics is expected to release a successor model to its premium robot vacuum cleaner "Powerbot" in the second half of this year. It will be about a year and a half since the new product was launched in the first half of last year.

The industry expects that the product Samsung Electronics will unveil this time is likely to be a mop-only model. Earlier in July, the company collaborated with domestic robot specialist Everybot to launch the mop robot vacuum cleaner "Jetbot Mop" in the U.S. market.

However, a Samsung Electronics official drew a line, saying, "That model was an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) product from a small and medium-sized enterprise released only in the U.S., so it is hard to consider it part of Samsung's official lineup."

Earlier, Kim Hyun-seok, president of Samsung Electronics' Consumer Electronics (CE) division, announced at the regular shareholders' meeting in the first half of this year that a robot vacuum cleaner that changes cleaning culture would be launched, leading the industry to expect that Samsung could introduce a product applying a more evolved new form factor.

It is explained that the model could be equipped with enhanced functions such as AI technology that autonomously recognizes house structures and terrain, remote control using the Internet of Things (IoT), and multi-system capabilities.

An industry insider said, "The home robot vacuum cleaner market is currently divided into vacuum suction types and mop-only models," adding, "Since there is no satisfactory product on the market that combines sweeping and mopping functions into one, Samsung may attempt to enter the market with an all-in-one product."

LG Electronics released the robot vacuum cleaner "CodeZero M9 ThinQ" equipped with a mop last month, ahead of Samsung Electronics. Unlike existing products, the new product is characterized by the absence of driving wheels. Two mops installed on the floor rotate and move to clean.

In particular, LG Electronics attempted differentiation by installing an "automatic water supply system" that supplies moisture so that the mop does not dry while the product is operating. They enhanced AI deep learning technology that pre-recognizes up to 700,000 object images. This helps the device autonomously recognize the house structure and distinguish between the living room, kitchen, bedroom, etc., for cleaning.

Since LG Electronics has led the market by launching the country's first robot vacuum cleaner series "RoboKing" in 2003, it plans to accelerate research and development of premium new products in line with recent growth trends.

The industry expects the domestic robot vacuum cleaner market size to continue rapid growth, reaching 200,000 units in 2018, 250,000 units in 2019, and 300,000 units by the end of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.