Robot vacuums are great, but what about those places they can’t reach? Until a robot vacuum can adequately mimic Spider-Man and climb walls, the best solution seems to be one achieved by the creators of the Coral One robot vacuum. Part robot vacuum, part handheld vacuum, the Coral One Ultra and Coral One Lite provide a unique way to clean those corners without requiring a secondary vacuum to do the work.
Lifting up the large handle on back and attaching the removable dustbin turns the Coral One into a handheld vacuum that can more easily get to those tough-to-reach places, including on counters or in the upper corners of the room.
Coral Robots launched its first generation vacuum Coral One last Fall to lukewarm reviews, with many citing that the lack of connectivity, inability to find a lost robot, and overall design left a lot to be desired. This new second-generation vacuum features a considerably sleeker design that’s not only much shorter and can now fit under cabinets and high furniture, but also comes loaded with a brand new connected OS that turns it into a proper smart home device.
WaveOS, which powers the second-generation Coral One Ultra and Lite, is a linux-based open source OS that not only gets over the air updates in a simple way, but also allows developers to create apps and other actions for the robot vacuum. For instance, users will be able to download sound packs that can change the voice or status sounds of the vacuum.
Ted Ko, CEO of Coral Robotics, even stated that they created an update for WaveOS that allowed the vacuum to operate as a white noise machine, staying stationary for half an hour at a time in order to play a soothing sound for better sleep. It’s these kinds of additions that Coral is looking to make a better robot experience with, and one that makes the Coral One series more than just a simple automated vacuum.
The second-generation Coral One ships at two price points, with the differentiating factors revolving around the battery size, suction power, and navigational abilities. The more expensive Coral One Ultra retails for $499 and features a 5,200mAh battery rated at 124 minutes of run-time, 6000 Pa suction rating, and a camera-assisted visual navigation.
The less expensive Coral One Lite sells for $299 and roams around with simple bump-and-run navigation, but the 4000 Pa suction power means it’ll still clean better than your average robot vacuum, and 90 minute run-time should be plenty for apartments and smaller houses.
Both units feature a large 0.5L dustbin, which is more than 50% larger than the average robot vacuum dustbin and doubles as a dustbin for the handheld portion of the vacuum. A unique “fluffy” brush underneath is made of microfiber and purportedly is a tangle-free design, which will be a considerable blessing if it works out as well as Coral says it does.
It also has a steeper climbing threshold for getting up and over large transition strips, and can even clean shag rugs with up to a 1.5-inch pile. That’s some pretty serious mobility.
There’s also a cool remote control that ships with it, joystick and all, dubbed the Coral Compass. Coral is beginning its campaign on Indiegogo today, with shipments slated to arrive in December. Considering they successfully completed their first project last year with all shipments made, this seems like an Indiegogo project worth funding.
