Roborock, a leader in intelligent home robotics, has introduced its latest innovation, the Roborock Qrevo Slim, at the IFA 2024 in Berlin. This new all-in-one sweeping and mopping robot features an advanced 3D camera module for navigation and obstacle avoidance, powered by Infineon Technologies’ REAL3™ Time-of-Flight (ToF) imager. The technology reduces the robot’s size and boosts performance, making it more efficient in navigating tight spaces. The Roborock Qrevo Slim, with a height of just 82 mm, is notably slimmer than traditional cleaning robots, which typically stand at around 100 mm.
“The integration of our REAL3 ToF into Roborock’s cleaning robot showcases how Infineon’s technology accelerates product innovation in the smart home sector,” said Andreas Kopetz, Vice President of Ambient Sensing at Infineon. “Our hybrid ToF solution targets the rapidly growing consumer robotics market, enabling unique robot designs while lowering system costs and complexity.”
Roborock collaborated with Infineon, pmdtechnologies, and OMS to develop the hybrid Time-of-Flight (hToF) system. This system replaces the traditional laser distance scanner (LDS) and obstacle avoidance modules, combining Infineon’s REAL3 ToF imager, dual infrared illumination sources, and pmdtechnologies’ processing capabilities. The hToF system supports functions like simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), obstacle avoidance, and cliff detection, all in one compact camera module made by OMS.
“At pmd, we are proud to contribute to Roborock’s latest innovation by providing advanced 3D pixels and our expertise in infrared illumination and processing technology,” said Jochen Penne, Managing Director at pmdtechnologies. “Our hybrid Time-of-Flight system significantly enhances the robot’s navigation and obstacle avoidance performance.”
The hToF system delivers high-resolution depth and vision data, allowing for reliable obstacle detection and accurate map generation using open-source SLAM algorithms. It works efficiently in both dark and bright environments and requires minimal computational resources, using just one Cortex A55 processor core for depth processing and SLAM tasks.
Roborock, which has been a pioneer in LDS technology since 2016, is the first company to use hybrid Time-of-Flight technology in its cleaning robots, setting a new standard in the market.
pmdtechnologies ag is a leading supplier of 3D Time-of-Flight CMOS-based digital imaging technology, with over 450 global patents. The company focuses on applications in industrial automation, robotics, automotive, and consumer markets such as AR/XR headsets, smartphones, and smart home devices.
Infineon Technologies AG is a global semiconductor leader specializing in power systems and IoT, with around 58,600 employees worldwide. In the 2023 fiscal year, Infineon generated €16.3 billion in revenue. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (IFX) and the OTCQX International market (IFNNY) in the USA.
