1 min readGamification of fitness is already rampant with the likes of Peloton and smartwatches, but how about gamifying your chores? Dyson announced CleanTrace, a software and hardware update that lets you see the areas you have cleaned using AR technology, and your phone.
Inspired by robot vacuum cleaners (specifically the 360 Vis Nav), Dyson is looking to incorporate LiDAR mapping with the human vacuuming experience. The software portion of CleanTrace utilises the MyDyson app, and the LiDAR sensors on your compatible phone. As you clean, the app maps the room and colours in where you have vacuumed already. Fill up all the gaps and you win! Metaphorically speaking of course.
While we could see vacuuming as a game, according to Charlie Park, VP of Engineering CleanTrace is all about efficient and methodical cleaning.
“We realised that we could all learn a thing or two from the methodical cleaning approach of our robot vacuums. 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.
The hardware portion of the setup is a phone clamp that mounts your device on to the Dyson stick vacuum cleaner. It will set you back $29. Combined, your phone and the CleanTrace sub-app identifies the shape of the vacuum’s head, and the sound of the motor when the machine is turned on to visually track the cleaning pathway.
As it stands CleanTrace will have limited compatibility across both Dyson products, and eligible phones. Only iPhones with LiDAR technology (Pro and Pro Max models from iPhone 12 onward) will work with the app, and currently the feature is limited to the Dyson Gen5detect. While Dyson is working on Android compatibility, there is no confirmed timeline for release.
Both the CleanTrace app and phone holder will be available from June 2024, exclusively from Dyson online and Dyson Demo stores.
