Folks with a Dyson Gen5detect vacuum will soon have access to a feature that promises you’ll never miss a spot.
CleanTrace launches in June and uses augmented reality (AR) to show you where you’ve vacuumed and — more importantly — where you haven’t.
Dyson shows off the CleanTrace feature in the video at the top of this page. As you can see, it works by attaching your handset to the vacuum cleaner using a special holder and opening the MyDyson app. Then, as you start vacuuming, Dyson’s AR smarts spring into action to show the precise area that you’ve vacuumed by coloring it purple — in real time — as you make your way around the room. Miss a bit? Then go back and run the cleaner over it to color it purple.
“The Dyson CleanTrace and Dyson Gen5detect vacuum combine to make the invisible visible, identifying areas missed and showing proof of cleanliness right on your phone,” Dyson said in a message introducing the new feature.
Charlie Park, Dyson’s vice president of engineering, said his team drew inspiration from the methodical cleaning approach of its robot vacuums, adding that “unlike most humans doing the cleaning, Dyson robots know where they are in the room, where they have been, and where they have yet to go.”
Research conducted by the company showed that people regularly overestimate their vacuuming time, with around 80% of cleaning sessions lasting less than 10 minutes, even though people claim they vacuum for an average of 24 minutes each time. That’s probably because it’s boring and feels like it drags on. With that in mind, CleanTrace might bring a bit of fun to the chore — even more so if Dyson goes all in on AR by adding some zombies and a points system to turn the entire experience into a smartphone game. Floors would never be cleaner.
