'We've ruined many of James' Persian rugs over the years' — Dyson designer shares the development secrets of the brand's new robovac lineup

After a less-than-enthusiastic response to 2023's 360 Vis Nav , Dyson got the wheels rolling on its return to the robot vacuum market last year with its Spot+Scrub Ai .

Now it seems momentum is building: this September the brand unveiled not one, but three new bots that would be joining the lineup.

There's the flagship R3 Nurovi Spot+Scrub UV — a successor to the Spot+Scrub Ai — alongside the R2 Nurovi Wash+Dry, and the R1 Nurovi Dry.

I got a peek at all three at Dyson's IFA -adjacent launch event earlier in the month, and was intrigued to see some unique new features.

To get the inside scoop, I caught up with Nathan Lawson Mclean, a Dyson senior design manager who works across the brand's home products.

Here are the five most surprising things I learned about the new Nurovi robot vacuum range...

1.

Triangle mops have been in Dyson's invention cupboard for years The R2 Nurovi Wash+Dry has a rather unusual mopping setup.

Instead of two circular discs, it uses a pair of rounded 'Reuleaux' triangles.

These rotate 'eccentrically' — that is, the point of rotation isn't central.

The pads move like a rotary engine, or a Spirograph, depending on your preferred analogy.

The benefit is the shape can get much closer into corners.

What's interesting is that this design has been in Dyson's back pocket for a while now, just waiting to be added to a suitable product.

"These have always been in development," says Lawson Mclean.