It can clean windows and glass surfaces like an autonomous robot vacuum, sweeping back and forth.
Price and Availability
The Winbot W2 Omni is available for pre-order now and will be available soon.
The cleaner retails for $599.99.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
Automated vacuums are common, but autonomous window cleaners aren’t.
As I journeyed toward my first use, all the pieces and their functions became more clear.
The slight suction on the bottom of the portable base station was purposeful.
The Ecovacs Winbot W2 Omni is a window cleaning robot with intelligent climbing system ensures smooth and easy travel while firmly adhering to windows.
The fold-down door was the perfect size to hold the robot when not in use.
The Winbot W2 seemed well thought out.
(This is probably because Ecovacs has been working on window cleaners of some fashion since 2011.)
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
It needs to go the extra mile on portability to reach the windows people will want to clean.
The biggest consideration for interested buyers should be where you want to use this cleaner.
The piece of glass needs to be mostly square or rectangular and cant have any cracks or protruding cross-sections.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
This solely has to do with the suction element and how it attaches itself to a window.
The Winbot W2 uses 5,500Pa of suction to keep itself vertical.
Passing over any breaks or design elements could dislodge its attachment.
Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek
Its 5,200mAh battery is advertised for about 110 minutes of use.
In practice, neither the cord length nor the battery duration hampered my use.
Did it work better than a spray bottle and rag?
It did much better than handing a spray bottle and rag to one of my kids.
It also probably did better than I could do in the same amount of time.
The gadget uses two wide-angle water spraying nozzles (one on each side) to loosen dirt.
I did notice some debris left in the corners and some edges.
Those spots were easy enough for me to get cleared with a swipe of a paper towel or rag.
Its not only windows that the W2 Omni can clean, however.
I tested the unit on a glass shower and a floor-to-ceiling closet mirror door.
The cleaning robot had no problem with frameless shower glass thanks to its built-in optocoupler sensor.
Despite having no edges to bump into, it never ran off the side or top.
If you have slanted windows, the robot can work on 60- to 120-degree tilted surfaces.
It doesnt know where it is, it just knows it needs to clean its current area.
Should You Buy Ecovacs Winbot W2 Omni?
Based on the results alone, I was thoroughly impressed with the window-cleaning performance of theEcovacs Winbot W2 Omni.
Its a remarkable product.
My hangups with it are more around the practical details.
Its $600 retail cost is a serious investment for the presumably limited places it can actually be used.
