Text|Intelligent Relativity
Author|She Kaiwen
What kind of sweeping robot is a good sweeping robot?
To answer this question, we must first understand what the product logic of the sweeping robot is. To put it simply, it is to replace people to complete the cleaning work in a certain environment. The deeper the "cleanliness" it can complete, the stronger its product power.
Therefore, from the beginning of its birth, the sweeping robot only had the basic cleaning ability. After the cleaning ability was gradually improved, the sweeping robot slowly emerged with the technological changes such as mopping the floor, handling garbage and other related capabilities, and then washing mop, sterilization and other capabilities. At the beginning of the collection, the ability of the sweeping robot has evolved from "cleaning" to "self-cleaning". The longer the capability link, the higher the "self-cleaning degree".
At present, this link has been lengthened again. The latest Dibao T20 series launched by Ecovacs has added 55°C hot water washing to the "self-cleaning" link, becoming the master of "self-cleaning degree" in the industry.
What new changes will "hot water washing at 55°C" bring to the industry?
The market competition is increasing, and the industry pattern is initially determined
After more than 20 years of development, the sweeping robot industry has achieved continuous enrichment of mandatory functions and continuous innovation of optional functions in the optimization and upgrading of products.
Especially in recent years, sweeping robot products have experienced several large-scale innovation outbreaks. For example, from around 2015, sweeping and dragging integrated machines began to show their prominence, subverting the inherent capabilities of sweeping robots; by 2017, visual algorithms and interactive methods with AI technology as the core began to enter the sweeping robot industry; With the addition of ", the self-cleaning ability of the product has been further enhanced. In addition to automatic dust collection, it also adds many functions such as automatic backwashing/replacement of mop, automatic hot air drying, automatic addition of cleaning liquid, etc., which greatly improves the cleaning and cleaning of the sweeping robot. The degree of intelligence. It is worth noting that the industry's first all-round sweeping and mopping robot is the Ecovacs Dibao X1 series. "OK YIKO" makes Ecovacs the first brand with leading intelligent voice technology in the industry. From the change of product form to The upgrade of product technology, behind every iteration, there is the figure of Ecovacs.
However, after each rapid iteration, the industry will also enter a corresponding "bottleneck period", followed by another round of "homogenization". So that at present, how to get rid of this cycle and maintain a continuous lead has become the answer that every player in the industry is looking for.
Some brands have completely retreated in the domestic market because of insufficient preparation in the field of innovation; some brands often only focus on innovation in one field in order to keep up with the pace; Frustrated with pursuit, he resolutely chose to enter the field of large appliances where innovation is not so frequent.
Among them, Ecovacs is one of the more successful brands. Over the past 25 years, Ecovacs has continued to improve technology research and development and innovation based on the advantages of its own supply chain. From the manufacture of traditional vacuum cleaners to the launch of its own brand of sweeping robots; from a single product of sweeping robots to the all-round structure of the household service robot product line; The field of smart living appliances spans more scenarios.
Judging from the market share in the past two years, Ecovacs has always maintained the market No. 1 in online and offline channels, which also shows that Ecovacs' innovation has won unanimous recognition from the market. Not long ago, Ecovacs released a new generation of T-series hot water cleaning and mopping experts Ecovacs Dibao T20 PRO. From this product, we may be able to find some ways for Ecovacs to maintain innovation and leadership.
Spanning the innovation cycle, Ecovacs occupies the "two disks" of the market
What is the most important thing for cleaning robot products? There is no doubt that the cleaning ability ranks first, which will directly determine the future of the product. The second point may be understood as navigation, intelligence or price, but in fact it can be summed up as "experience". According to our observation, Kovo Every promotion of Si also revolves around these two cores.
1. The basic plate of solid cleaning ability
Looking back at the several iterations of Cobos, the improvement of cleaning capabilities is often placed in the first sequence.
For example, with the birth of the Ecovacs Dibao 9 series in 2015, the sweeper evolved into the sweeping robot stage; for example, in 2016, the Ecovacs sweeping and mopping integrated product was unveiled, which made the sweeping robot products get a qualitative change in cleaning ability; In 2019, Ecovacs launched the second-generation integrated sweeping and mopping technology. The innovative longitudinal vibration and high-frequency vibration that can reach 480 times per minute once again made the cleaning ability leap forward; Upgraded to the third generation, "hot water washing" may bring sweeping robots into the era of "deep cleaning".
Specifically, Cobos’s latest release of Dibao T20 PRO is the first to substitute the ability of “hot water washing mop” into sweeping and mopping robot products, in order to deal with the pain points that traditional products cannot effectively deal with oil-stained floors. The mop washed in hot water at 55°C will not only effectively solve the problem of oil stains, but also effectively remove the peculiar smell of the mop after "washing" in hot water.
Then why must it be 55°C? We also had an in-depth discussion with the product manager of Cobos. In fact, many people have the experience of using hot water to remove and clean oil stains, but during the research and development of Cobos, it was found that the "paste point" of certain flour-like substances will be reached if the temperature is higher than 55°C. In order to avoid possible “smudges” after cleaning and to ensure a more user-friendly experience in the kitchen scene, Ecovacs finally settled on a “golden temperature” of 55°C after multiple verifications based on theory and experiments.
In addition, the product manager of Cobos also said that 55°C is not a constant temperature. When the Cobos Dibao T20 series is self-cleaning, the temperature will rise in stages. By intelligently "reading" the cleaning status, the robot takes the lead in judging the stains on the mop, and then decides whether to use the "most" golden temperature for cleaning. The temperature also drops modestly when the robot judges the mop is no longer so dirty, perhaps a second or third cleaning.
In addition, Cobos Dibao T20 also has a "full link antibacterial" function to achieve long-term effective antibacterial; the "mop automatic lifting" function will automatically lift the mop when facing the carpet to prevent the water on the mop from wetting the carpet . At the same time, the suction power is automatically increased to powerfully remove the dust hidden in the carpet; the "deep cleaning of corners" function regularly deep cleans the blind areas of corners, and the coverage rate of corners is increased by 60%, so you don't have to worry about corners anymore Inadequate cleaning.
Obviously, this shows that on the one hand, Cobos has an inexhaustible effort in innovation of cleaning ability, and on the other hand, it also shows that in the matter of "innovation of cleaning ability", Cobos has an accurate direction and a solid foundation. technology.
And these capabilities must come from the accumulation of 25 years of extraordinary innovation of Cobos, which is also an advantage that other brands cannot match.
2. Growth plate to improve user experience
In addition to anchoring cleaning capabilities, Cobos has a good reputation among users and the core of the market. The second is to be good at grasping the needs of user experience.
As we all know, sweeping robot products have received a lot of doubts at the beginning of their birth. Since then, with the improvement of overall technology, many problems have been solved. However, after meeting the basic cleaning needs, users' demand for the experience of sweeping robot products is also increasing. Zooming in, this was first seen by Cobos.
For example, in terms of navigation experience, in 2013, Cobos launched the first global planning sweeping robot, which opened the door to the era of planning cleaning; in 2017, it developed a product line of VSLAM algorithms, which greatly improved the efficiency of map construction and navigation; in 2018, Cobos has launched AIVI technology based on artificial intelligence and visual recognition; in 2020, dToF laser technology and 3D structured light technology will be introduced into the sweeping robot for the first time.
Then, the user experience of Cobos Dibao T20 series has a full-scale explosion, like the equipment of the eight-in-one all-round base station, which integrates eight functions such as cleaning, water replenishment, drying, dust collection, and sterilization, and fully releases the user's hands; TrueDetect 3D 3.0 makes obstacle avoidance no longer a problem; TrueMapping 2.0 completes global planning and rapid map building; the newly upgraded voice assistant "OK YIKO" makes machine-computer interaction more natural and smooth.
The biggest highlight is the "personalized intelligent cleaning experience", which enables users to choose different cleaning scenarios according to different cleaning content, methods, time and other dimensions, truly realizing "what you see is what you think, and what you think is what you get".
The product manager of Cobos also said that the research and development of new products and new functions is inseparable from Cobos's careful observation of the target user group. For example, the relaxation and warmth brought by carpets have led more and more families to set up "carpet areas". It has gradually become a popular way of life to lay all kinds of long-haired and short-haired carpets at home as decorations. Carpet cleaning also has new needs. For this reason, hundreds of carpets of different materials and thicknesses have been prepared in Cobos' laboratory. Considering the different states of the mop during cleaning, after repeated experiments, Cobos finally raised the mop to a height of 9mm, which can clean the carpet without wetting it.
In addition, Cobos also noticed the demand of some users for "respecting the elderly". For elderly parents, APP or voice operation may be somewhat difficult, so Cobos has developed a minimalist version of the applet. After the children have completed the equipment configuration, connection and other operations, they can share the device with one click through WeChat chat, and the parents can directly complete the cleaning operation in the applet through the sharing link, which is simple and fast.
Improving user experience is becoming a powerful "growth drive" of Ecovacs, and it is also the source of ideas for Ecovacs' continuous innovation. Good at insight into needs, insisting on user-oriented research and development, and has long become the broad moat that Cobos has poured into itself.
Ecovacs creates an innovative "future perspective"
From a long time ago, household cleaning robots have had a clear goal, that is, to help users realize the full automation of housework and completely liberate people's hands.
The concept of many brands is also born from this, such as the mission of "let robots serve everyone" that Cobos constantly emphasized at the 25th anniversary celebration.
The current cleaning products have also improved in quality. From the initial housework, to packing and cleaning, to the final automatic cleaning of the machine, a chain realizes fully automatic cleaning. Technological innovation has been driving the industry forward. In addition, through the case of Cobos, it can also be seen that "digging deep into pain points is still the essence of competitiveness."
When we further dig into why Ecovacs has this essence, we can find that the biggest difference between Ecovacs and others in the industry lies in the two levels of "dare to think" and "dare to do".
"Dare to think" can be understood as the development of new categories.
From the launch of the first domestic sweeping robot product Dibao 5 series in 2007, to the release of the world's first air purification robot Qinbao in 2010, and to the release of the world's first window cleaning robot Chuangbao in 2011, Ecovacs has continuously enriched household service robots The matrix gradually expands the product from the ground space to the three-dimensional space.
A similar layout is the only one in the industry, and the three-dimensional product line is not only the improvement of self-ecology, but also the reinforcement of clean labels, so that the consumer market will naturally think of Ecovacs when thinking of cleaning products.
"Dare to do" can be understood as Cobos's bold and innovative actions on multiple tracks.
Since last year, Cobos has extended its product layout from indoors to outdoors, and released products such as GOTA G1 lawn mower, DEEBOT K1, and M1 commercial collaborative cleaning robot for the commercial field. Become the first group of pathfinders in the industry to enter the B-end market from the C-end market.
At the same time, it is equivalent to further breaking through technical barriers and realizing the full-scene leap of robots in life, production and ecology.
The premise of supporting Ecovacs' "dare to think" and "dare to do" is to rely on the profound accumulation of Ecovacs in related hardware, sensors, algorithms and AI and other intelligent technologies for nearly 20 years. The cost of core links has been raised to Today's more than 40%, the compound growth rate of R&D expenses exceeds 40%, and the R&D expenses in the first half of 2022 will reach 352 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 74.05%, which is beyond the reach of other similar companies.
It is also the two characteristics + one support that make Ecovacs seem to have a "future perspective" and become stronger in the process of meeting user needs and experience.
In 25 years, it has grown from a small foundry to today's global manufacturing benchmark, and has become a beautiful business card for China's intelligent manufacturing overseas. The brand value of Ecovacs is also undergoing fission, from pure product value and functional value , It has become a brand-new combination integrating many elements such as "consumption value, emotional value, and social value".
It can be predicted that 25 years is just a starting point for Ecovacs, just like China's smart manufacturing industry, their future has just begun.
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