Robot mops aren't really a new concept; they've existed for a few years now with mopping pad attachments and dispensers for cleaning solution and water. However, many are just glorified Swiffers. They smear dirty water around your floors and call it "cleaning." But Ecovacs' Deebot X9 Pro Omni and T80 Omni try to fix that problem with a self-washing mop that, in theory, won't turn your floor into a petri dish. "With Ozmo Roller Mop technology, we're addressing the hygiene gaps traditional mops leave behind, while innovations like Blast suction and ZeroTangle 3.0 take performance and convenience to the next level," David Qian, CEO of Ecovacs Robotics, said in a news release.I got an early look at these robot mops in a Brooklyn coffee shop ahead of their launch. While they're not cheap, starting at $1,200 for the T80 Omni and $1,600 for the X9 Pro Omni, they have a lot of mopping tech that should help make mopping your living space quicker and more hygienic.  The X9 Pro Omni tackled a milk spill with ease. Ajay KumarSelf-washing robotsThe headline feature here is Ecovacs Ozmmo Roller Mop, which first debuted in this year's X8 Pro Omni model. Unlike older robot mops that drag a damp cloth around until it's disgusting, this one has separate clean and dirty water tanks and scrubs the mop pad clean mid-job. It also applies 16 times more pressure than a typical robot mop, so it's closer to an actual hand-scrubbing than a Swiffer.  The Ozmo mop roller on the robot vacuum can pop out to hit corners.  Ajay KumarThis means your floors get cleaned with fresh water each time instead of reusing old, dirty water. I watched this happen with both the X9 Pro Omni and T80 Omni, where the two robots cleaned up spilled milk from the concrete floor of a coffee shop. I was impressed that, for the most part, they left no mess or streaks behind, though concrete flooring likely isn't the type of surface you have in your home, so the real test will be on tile, vinyl and other hard flooring. I was also impressed by their ability to navigate the fairly crowded coffee shop. I never saw them bump into people's feet or get caught on furniture or carpets.  The Omni docking station comes with hot air drying.  Ajay KumarX9 Pro Omni: The flagship robot mop The X9 Pro Omni is Ecovacs' new flagship and will set you back the most at $1,599. Here are some of the key features:  The X9 Pro Omni zeroed in on the milk spill.  Ajay KumarBlast suction: Its 100-watt motor and redesigned airflow path give it more vacuuming power. The motor has a high-torque, wider air inlet and more precise fan blades. SuperBoost battery: It comes with Ecovacs' proprietary SuperBoost battery, which the company says can deliver 50% higher discharge current, a 2.5 times longer battery lifespan, and reduced heat output. ZeroTangle 3.0 brushes: This self-maintaining brush system has a main brush and inward-curved side brush that's designed to eliminate pet hair and other debris from wrapping around it.  The Deebot did a good job of making sure it didn't hit carpet with the mop by lifting the mopping pad.  Ajay KumarTruEdge 2.0 3D navigation: Corners are usually a challenge for robot vacuums and mops, which TruEdge is designed to address. It has edge sensing and an extending mop and side brush for cleaning corners and along walls. Mop lifting: The X9 Pro can detect carpets and automatically raise the mop to prevent your carpets from getting soggy. That's a pretty common feature these days, but it's still nice to see it. Hot-air drying: The Omni docking station blasts the mop with 145-degree Fahrenheit air, drying it out between uses and preventing bacteria growth.Is all this necessary? Maybe not, unless you're doing frequent wet mopping at home. (Personally, I usually just vacuum, and my floors are lucky if they get mopped more than once a month.) But if you want the closest thing to a "set it and forget it" robot cleaner -- one that vacuums and mops without you babysitting it -- the X9 Pro Omni might be a good option, though we'll need to put it through its paces at our Louisville vacuum testing lab to see how it performs.  TruEdge 2.0 3D navigation is enhanced by AI to help tackle obstacles and corners.  Ajay KumarT80 Omni: Less expensive, still feature-packedThe T80 Omni strips out some of the X9's features but keeps all the important ones. This includes the Ozmo Roller self-washing mop and AI remopping (where it spots sticky spots and hits them twice). According to Ecovacs, it has 16 times more downward pressure than traditional mops and self-washes with every pass, just like the X9 Omni. There's also the ZeroTangle 3.0 brush, which minimizes tangling and picks up debris better. So what's missing? Well, the docking station uses slightly cooler 113 degrees Fahrenheit air to dry the mop, and the suction isn't quite as strong, but it's still way more capable than some of the more affordable robot vacuums we recommend.  Source: https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/ecovacs-new-self-washing-robot-vacuums-try-to-make-mopping-cleaner/#ftag=CAD590a51e #saw #ecovacs039 #new #selfwashing #robot #vacuums #that #make #mopping #cleaner

DJI has remained the leader in camera-equipped drones since the company's Phantom series launched in 2013 and its latest model, the Mavic 4 Pro, will only cement its position as the go-to option for aerial filmmakers. From its innovative new gimbal system to its impressive zoom skills and image quality, the Mavic 4 Pro offers an extremely powerful package for amateurs and professionals alike to capture stunning imagery from the air.I've flown the Mavic 4 Pro and I'm impressed with its image quality from all of its cameras, the new "infinity gimbal" and the drone's overall ease of use. But it asks a lofty price in return, with the new drone starting at £1,879 in the UK and the Fly More Creator Combo that includes three batteries and the company's new RC Pro 2 controller (as reviewed) costing a princely £3,209. At launch, the Mavic 4 Pro will not be available in the US. I asked DJI about this and a company spokesperson had this to say:"The DJI Mavic 4 Pro will not be available for sale in the US upon its global launch on May 13. Like many global companies, we have had to adjust our market strategy as local conditions and the industry environment have evolved. While we do not have a timeline for when we can introduce the product to the US market, we are closely monitoring the situation and actively exploring every possible solution."For reference, those UK prices convert to $2,499 and $4,268, respectively. The Fly More Creator Combo includes the drone, three batteries with fast charging cradle and the controller with built-in LCD display. Andrew Lanxon/CNETIts price puts the drone out of range for those of you simply wanting to take your first steps into capturing aerial footage to send to your friends on Instagram. Instead, the Mavic 4 Pro is squarely aimed at more serious content creators as well as video production professionals who want an extremely capable flying camera but don't quite want the expense -- and setup hassle -- of DJI's more cinema-focused Inspire series. DJI Mavic 4 Pro: New gimbal, new camerasAt the heart of the Mavic 4 Pro is a redesigned gimbal. Instead of a square camera unit sitting below the drone, the new "Infinity Gimbal," as DJI calls it, is more of a sphere that sits right on the front. It can freely shoot forward, down, to the sides and even upward. It offers a much wider range of motion than previous DJI drones, and it opens more creative shooting options while flying.I especially enjoyed shooting footage looking upward as the sun came from behind the clouds. At slow speeds, the propellers were not visible in frame, although I found that when I flew faster, the gimbal's adjusted position made propeller movement more noticeable in my footage.  The new Infinity Gimbal allows for a much greater range of movement than was possible on previous models. Andrew Lanxon/CNETThe gimbal houses three cameras: a main camera with a 4/3-size CMOS sensor and a 28mm equivalent field of view, a medium telephoto camera with a 70mm equivalent focal length and a longer telephoto camera with a 168mm equivalent focal length for very zoomed-in shots. The main camera offers resolutions up to 6K at 60 frames per second and can take stills up to 100 megapixels in size in DNG raw format. Its relatively large sensor size allows it to capture more light, allowing for better dynamic range (DJI promises "up to" 16 stops) and better image quality in low light. In practice, I found video and stills from this camera looked superb, with crisp details, even exposures and accurate colors. The variable f/2 to f/11 aperture allows for narrow aperture shots, turning bright points of light -- like the sun -- into attractive 10-point star bursts, which looked amazing. Stills shot in raw were sharp with lots of latitude for deep editing in Adobe Lightroom. The variable aperture allowed me to create an authentic 10-point star on this still image of the sun peeking out from behind a cloud. Andrew Lanxon/CNETAt 70mm zoom, footage still looks pin-sharp, and I even found the 168mm zoom lens to provide great-looking video as well. I wasn't impressed with the zoom on the previous Mavic 3 Pro, finding it generally too low-quality to be usable for anything other than casual Instagram posts. The Mavic 4 Pro's zooms are different beasts altogether, providing footage that looks good enough for all but the most demanding of commercial clients. Taken with the 70mm lens, this image remains pin sharp. By shooting in DNG raw I was able to adjust the white balance afterward to create a pleasing, warmer tone. Andrew Lanxon/CNET Even using the longest 168mm zoom lens, images still look clear and sharp. Andrew Lanxon/CNETBetter yet, all three cameras allow you to shoot at 4K resolution in 10-bit D-Log color profiles, which is useful for those who want to add your own cinematic color grades to your aerial footage. DJI Mavic 4 Pro: Flying, controller and battery lifeThe Mavic 4 Pro flies like any other drone from the company's back catalogue, so those of you who've spent any time with a previous model will already be familiar with the controls. While the drone is aimed more at professionals and enthusiastic amateurs, it's simple enough to learn even if this is your first foray into aerial photography. To help beginners -- as well as helping the more reckless among you -- there is the usual array of sensors on all sides to help it avoid colliding with obstacles in front, behind, above or below. These continue to work as well as I found them on previous models, consistently identifying -- and avoiding -- potential objects including trees, branches, power lines and people. Basically, anything that it could smash into. The controller is comfortable to hold while the huge display offers a bright, clear view as you fly. I much prefer using this simply having to connect my phone to use as the viewfinder. Andrew Lanxon/CNETThere's also a slew of intelligent flight modes, including object tracking and programmable flight plans, all of which are pretty much the same as on DJI's other models. The Mavic 4 Pro can be bought with the company's new RC Pro 2 controller, which has its own built-in adjustable 7-inch display. It's basically like slapping an iPad Mini onto the controller, and it means you don't have to mess with trying to hook your phone up to use as the display. I really like it and found the big, bright screen a great way to monitor my footage while the drone was in the air. The controller has various dedicated controls for using the cameras along with a new HDMI out port for hooking up an external monitor -- handy if your project director, client or just your mate wants a better view of what you're doing.In terms of flying time, DJI claims you'll get up to 51 minutes of flight from a fully-charged battery. That's a solid step up over the 46 minutes of promised flight time on the last Mavic Pro, but in reality, you can expect that number to be quite a bit lower. I flew mostly in moderate winds and at higher speeds, and generally found that I achieved flight times closer to 30 minutes. Still, that's not a bad amount of airtime, especially if you opt for the Fly More combo, which comes with three batteries and a 100-watt fast-charger that juices them back up extremely quickly.  With sensors on all sides, the Mavic 4 Pro can avoid obstacles in any direction. Andrew Lanxon/CNETThe drone weighs 1,063 grams (2.3 pounds), so all fliers in the US will need to register themselves -- and the drone -- with the FAA (assuming you can buy one at all, that is), whether you plan to use it commercially. Drone laws differ significantly between countries (and even within states in the US), so be sure you check your local laws before taking flight and ensure you always operate a drone safely.DJI Mavic 4 Pro: Should you buy it?The Mavic 4 Pro's upgrades over the previous Mavic 3 Pro are significant. The newly designed gimbal allows for shots simply not possible with other models, while the overall image quality -- especially from the zoom lenses -- is a big step up. While its high price means this isn't a drone for those of you simply wanting to add some aerial excitement to your TikToks, the Mavic 4 Pro is a superb option for video professionals who want to add some truly cinematic drone footage to their image-making arsenal. That is, if you live somewhere, you can buy it. Source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/dji-mavic-4-pro-tested-the-best-camera-drone-for-photo-pros-but-not-in-the-us/#ftag=CAD590a51e #dji #mavic #pro #tested #the #best #camera #drone #for #photo #pros #but #not