Bosch and Ecovacs have unveiled a robot vacuum cleaner and mop that hides inside your kitchen cabinet, merging autonomous maintenance with high-end home design.
Robot vacuums have become a lot smarter and more capable in recent years. They still have one common drawback, though: when they’re not cleaning, they tend to sit in plain sight as a somewhat bulky eyesore.
Bosch, in collaboration with robotics specialist Ecovacs, is tackling this issue head on with a novel system that integrates directly into your kitchen cabinetry. Inside, a hidden dock connects directly to mains power, and an automated baseboard hatch allows the robot to move in and out on its own. That dock handles charging, cleaning, and maintenance. It’s also plumbed directly into the home’s utility lines, so you won’t need to manually refill or empty it.
Bosch
What sets this robovac apart is its “invisible” design. Instead of docking in plain sight, the robot hides away beneath your kitchen’s woodwork – typically within the sink base cabinet. When it’s time to clean, it emerges from its cubby hole and gets to work.
While aesthetics are central to the design, cleaning performance clearly hasn’t been overlooked. The robot delivers up to 20,000 Pa of suction and stands just 84 mm (3.3 in) tall, allowing it to easily get underneath furniture. A side brush improves how well it cleans around edges, while camera-based vision, structured light, and sensors handle navigation. It can lift mop pads by up to 9 mm (0.35 in) on carpets and clear thresholds up to 20 mm (0.78 in). The system washes mop pads at 75 °C (167 °F), dries them with 45 °C (113 °F) air, and comes with a 2-liter antibacterial dust bag and automatic detergent dispensing.
You control the robovac via the Bosch Home Connect app, where you can map rooms, set no-go zones, and schedule cleaning routines. Bosch says all data will be stored within the EU, which means it will align with strict GDPR privacy standards. The system is designed for hands-off operation, though its real-world performance will depend on the complexity of the space it’s assigned.
Bosch
The project is the first major result of a partnership formed last year, designed to combine appliance integration with robotics expertise – Bosch bringing its experience in built-in kitchen systems, and Ecovacs contributing navigation, automation, and cleaning tech. All in all, this feels like the early stages of a broader platform that merges robotics with built-in home infrastructure. Sitting at the intersection of robovacs, built-in appliances, and smart home nodes, it could transform home floor cleaning into something that just happens in the background, much like your home’s temperature control or water heating: set and forget.
With a European launch expected soon, that idea may soon be tested in real homes. And if the idea gains traction, we may see this type of integrated robovac system become a part of a lot more homes – though installation complexity and cost may keep it niche, at least early on. However, pricing has not been revealed at this time.
Source: Bosch