First look: DJI’s Romo robotic vacuum

Of all the companies that could have released a robot vacuum in 2025, I didn’t have DJI in the running — but here we are. The manufacturer has released drones and cameras DJI Romo’s slave In Europe today, after its first appearance in China This summer. The Romo is a robot vacuum and mop with a twist — it’s transparent. But, unfortunately, he cannot fly. Instead, DJI has channeled its navigation expertise into a robot that stays planted on the ground.

I glanced at the clear straw in IFA trade show in September. Although I didn’t get to see it in action in the small room behind DJI’s massive booth, I did get to check out the hardware — and there’s some interesting technology here.

The Romo comes in three models: the flagship, the fully transparent Romo P, which starts at €1,899 (about $2,200); The Romo A, which combines a transparent robot with an opaque white base, goes for 1,599 euros (about $1,700), and the all-white Romo S, for 1,299 euros (about $1,500). All three are now available in Europe at store.dji.com.

Specifications-wise, the three are almost identical (see chart). The P dock adds a few extras, but mostly you’re paying €300 for the cool factor of see-through technology.

While I love a good piece of… Transparent technology As much as the gadget nerd I am, I doubt how good this will look in your living room after six months of hard work mopping your floors. However, as a vacuum review robot, it was nice to be able to see inside the vacuum and dock.

However, this vacuum is quite expensive for its specs – and the inside of your vacuum has already been seen (thanks, Dyson). Aside from mobility (more on that in a bit), the Romo line is very similar to the less expensive Roborock line Curvo Curve Series. The curved base stations feature a similar design, and the robots have the same split rotating brush that directs hair to the center to be sucked out of the way, plus an extendable side brush to reach the corners.

They also share the same dual-spin mop pad design, and both can recognize carpets and lift mops to avoid mopping. Romos offers higher suction power – 25,000 Pa – than Curvs, as well as a larger 164ml water tank, meaning the robot won’t have to return to the dock as often to refill.

The model I saw at IFA was the Romo P, and although the overall design is similar to the Curv, both the base station and the robot itself are much larger, heavier and taller – the better to accommodate all of its navigation technology. This is where DJI’s expertise clearly comes into play. The robot uses a combination of dual fisheye vision sensors, solid-state lidar and a wide-angle dual transmitter, technology derived from its pioneering drones.

According to DJI, this enables “millimeter-level obstacle sensing technology” which, combined with machine learning, allows the Romo to detect objects as thin as a 2mm charging cable or even a playing card. This means it can navigate your home effectively without tripping over common objects like ropes and socks.

Although most leading robotic cars have high-level obstacle detection technology, this seems like a significant step forward. Major Roborock StarSight navigation system In its advanced models, it can only recognize objects as small as 2cm x 2cm.

I’ve tested a lot of robot vacuums and found that the ones with cameras are much better at navigation, and the combination of lidar and vision sensors in the Romo seems promising.

The Romo self-cleaning base station also has some unique features, including a “floor deodorizer solution” slot alongside the standard cleaning solution on the Model P. This gives you the option to make your floors smell nice after vacuuming instead of doing a full mop with the cleaning solution, which is a nice upgrade. It also features a high-pressure jet system for cleaning mop pads, along with hot air for drying.

Another stylish design that reduces the noise level. DJI says the dock has a sound-suppression system with long silencer channels and silencer chambers that suppress the very loud noise common in self-discharging stations by 80 percent, to just 65 decibels. You can see this through the transparent panels on the P model, which is pretty cool. But I insist that I’d like to see one again in six months before I decide whether the transparency was a smart design choice or an obvious mistake.

Romo doesn’t have a US release date, but we plan to test the European model and follow up with a full review.

Photos by Jennifer Pattison Toohey/The Verge