DJI Hits the Floor: The ROMO Vacuum Claims 25,000 Pa Suction

DJI is parlaying its dominance of the skies into a grounded challenge for the smart home. Earlier this week, the drone giant unveiled the ROMO series, a line of robot vacuums that suggests the company is tired of watching competitors like Roborock and Dreame dominate the floor. Headlined by a staggering 25,000 Pa suction rating and a "maintenance-free" dock promising 200 days of autonomy, the ROMO isn't just a new product—it’s an attempt to port drone-level spatial awareness into the living room.

The flagship ROMO P breaks away from the "white plastic puck" trope of the last decade. It features transparent casing that exposes the internal gears and sensors, an industrial-chic aesthetic reminiscent of Nothing’s hardware. It’s a clear signal that DJI wants the vacuum to be viewed as a high-tech design piece rather than a hidden utility.

Extreme Power and its Trade-offs

The headline-grabbing 25,000 Pa suction figure effectively doubles the power of many current market leaders. To achieve this, DJI fitted the ROMO with a high-velocity motor and nine-blade metal fans capable of moving 20 liters of air per second.

However, tech enthusiasts should remain skeptical until real-world benchmarks arrive. Sustaining that level of suction typically wreaks havoc on battery life, and it remains to be seen if the ROMO can complete a standard floor plan on a single charge without retreating to the dock. Furthermore, while DJI claims a "triple-silenced cabin" keeps noise at 56 dBA in standard modes, the decibel levels at the full 25,000 Pa peak could prove disruptive in smaller homes.

To manage this power, the system uses "intelligent suction boosting" to ramp up only when sensors detect heavy debris. To solve the "cat litter scatter" problem—where high-speed brushes fling mess across the room—the ROMO borrows vision-processing logic from DJI’s OcuSync systems. When the camera identifies loose debris, it slows the travel speed and brush rotation to ensure the vacuum swallows the mess rather than spreading it.

Drone-Derived Navigation

While most competitors rely on basic LiDAR "turrets," the ROMO series packs binocular fisheye cameras and multiple solid-state LiDAR sensors. This hardware suite provides the same millimeter-level spatial awareness DJI uses for its obstacle-avoidance drones. The goal is to eliminate the industry’s biggest pain point: the vacuum getting defeated by a stray USB cable or a discarded playing card.

Mechanical Arms and Low-Light Vision

To solve the "square peg in a round hole" issue of circular vacuums, the ROMO features dual robotic arms that extend and retract in real-time. These arms reach deep into corners and under cabinet overhangs, guided by adaptive edge algorithms. Critically, the hardware ensures the sweeping path remains wider than the mopping path, preventing the robot from turning dry dust into wet streaks.

Because the perception tech is derived from drone sensors, the ROMO can navigate in near-total darkness. It maps environments under beds and sofas without the erratic "blind bumping" that plagues lower-end models.

A 200-Day Autonomy Play

The self-cleaning base station aims for six months of total human "hands-off" time. It employs a "hot bath" flushing system, using four high-pressure jets to scrub the mop pads. To mitigate the hygiene issues common in long-term waste storage, the dock includes a UV sterilizer for the dust bag and high-temperature drying to prevent mold growth in the internal plumbing.

The flagship ROMO P docking station also introduces dual solution tanks. This allows the robot to autonomously switch between antibacterial cleaners for bathrooms and degreasers for the kitchen, removing the need for the user to swap out cleaning fluids manually.

With this launch, DJI is no longer just a hobbyist camera company; it is a direct threat to the floor-care establishment. The success of the ROMO will likely depend on whether its 25,000 Pa claim holds up under scrutiny, or if it’s a theoretical peak that sacrifices too much in battery and acoustics. Regardless, Roborock and Dreame now have a very sophisticated, very well-funded predator in their ecosystem.