Is Your Robot Vacuum About to Get a Personality?

Tell the truth. Have you given your robot vacuum a name? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Whether it’s Dusty, Sir Sweep-a-lot or something a little more questionable, plenty of us have humanised our hard-working floor cleaners. But here’s a question worth asking. What if your robot vacuum actually had a personality?

We’re not just talking about giving it a name in the app or choosing between “Standard” and “Turbo” modes. We mean real character. Expressions. Movement. Attitude. Well thanks to some recent developments in robotics and AI, this idea might be closer than you think.

A recent research project from Apple has turned heads in the tech world. Their study focused on making robots move in a way that communicates emotion or intent. The demo is a small robotic lamp that moves like something straight out of a Pixar film. Think Luxo Jr., bouncing with excitement, tilting its head inquisitively, or expressing confusion with a twitch. There’s no face, no voice, yet somehow it feels alive.

Now, you might be wondering what a bouncy robot lamp has to do with robot vacuums. Quite a lot, actually. Some of the latest robot vacuum models from Roborock and Dreame, are already being built with arms. Yes, actual extendable limbs. Today, they’re used for practical tasks like lifting cords out of the way or scrubbing tricky edges. But it doesn’t take much imagination to see where this could go.

What if those arms could wave hello when the vacuum starts its day? Or give a little celebratory shimmy when a deep clean is done? Combined with the kind of expressive movement Apple is working on, we could soon have robot vacuums that show frustration when stuck under the sofa or proudly strut back to their dock after a job well done.

This shift from purely functional to emotionally expressive design is more than just a gimmick. Personality creates connection. A vacuum that feels responsive and engaging could make cleaning more enjoyable and even build trust with users. It’s similar to how smart speakers became more popular once they started speaking with warmth and wit.

Imagine choosing your vacuum not just by suction power or navigation system, but also by personality type. Want a chirpy, enthusiastic cleaner that praises your tidy home? Or maybe a no-nonsense, get-it-done type that doesn’t say a word but always shows up? The way a vacuum feels to use might soon matter just as much as how well it performs.

Of course, this future isn’t here yet. For now, we still compare robot vacuums by their battery life, obstacle avoidance and carpet performance. But expressive movement, smart behaviour, and yes, even personality, might soon be part of the comparison. If Apple’s Pixar-inspired robot lamp is anything to go by, it’s not a question of if, but when.

So, next time your vacuum bumps gently into the coffee table and reverses with a kind of hesitant wobble, just remember: maybe it’s already trying to tell you something.