Narwal Freo Z Ultra Review – World’s First Dual RGB Camera + Dual AI Chip Robot Vacuum

Narwal Robotics is a global brand that has won many awards and has been at the forefront of robotic cleaning solutions since 2016. I had honestly never reviewed or encountered any of their products before, but after reviewing their latest Freo Z Ultra, I believe everyone should know about them.

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra demonstrates the company’s innovation and commitment to leading the robot vacuum world with new technology.

NARWAL FREO Z ULTRA REVIEW – PACKAGING CONTENTS

NARWAL FREO Z ULTRA REVIEW – DESIGN AND FEATURES

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra is a combination of a robot vacuum cleaner (that can both vacuum and mop simultaneously) and a cleaning station. For the first installation, an app must be installed on the smartphone. Unlike other cleaning products and robots, you’ll want to install the Narwal app. I’ll explain why later.

Once the app is installed, the bot requires mapping of the entire house, which will automatically map out all the rooms for later use. Mapping is actually quite quick, and the bot confidently navigates the entire floor of our house. The mapping utilises Lidar 4.0 Precision Navigation and can even give you a 3D map display (you can switch between 2D and 3D in the app).

All this is made possible thanks to its dual 136-degree cameras (1600 x 1200 high-resolution) with advanced detection using enhanced vision, and dual AI Chips technology within to intelligently process many things in real time (and not just obstacles).

Unlike other robot vacuum cleaners I’ve used and reviewed before, the Freo Z Ultra can actually identify obstacles down to specific items like cables and shoes. According to Narwal, the bot comes with TwinAI Dodge Obstacle Avoidance that can detect more than 120 complex obstacles – even down to dog’s poop. I chose not to test this particular feature so we’ll have to rely on the manufacturer’s claim. However, it’s impressive if the Freo Z Ultra can avoid this, as I had a nasty incident months ago involving my dog’s poop when I scheduled a review bot to mop my house.

You can see these obstacles in the app as icons appearing around the floor map. If you’ve authorised the bot to take actual pictures, you can view them in the app. Note that all analysed images are on the AI chip and are not uploaded to the cloud. I’m sure this feature will be handy later when your missing items are found by this bot underneath the bed or furniture somewhere around the house. Narwal Freo Z Ultra can also identify stains, messes, and other things – which its AI then uses to smartly change its cleaning process.

Remarkably, you can control the bot with your app like an RC car and see through the camera live on your phone. Again, this depends on whether you authorise the bot inside the app, so if you’re concerned about privacy, just leave the settings alone.

Navigating the bot is surprisingly seamless and responsive. You can also have a two-way talk through the bot (it has a built-in microphone and speaker), which is handy when you need to communicate with someone far away in the house.

As for its cleaning process, all the tech within the Narwal Freo Z Ultra allows it to detect and react in real time, enabling it to boost certain features like suction and mop rotation speed when it detects dirty areas, or even automatically switch from mop to vacuum and vice versa temporarily. This is particularly useful because it separates wet and dry waste into their own storage compartments.

I also noticed the Narwal Freo Z Ultra being able to:

• Do edge cleaning around our furniture and office chairs easily
• Recognise room boundaries like a champ
• Traverse through carpet edges
• Glide along cables nicely

These are all significant plus points. For obstacles, it does great most of the time, but nothing is perfect. I observed the bot pushing through a small toy on the floor at some point instead of finding a way around it.

According to Narwal, it has 12,000Pa suction power, which is quite powerful, and rotating mops with 180RPM and 1.2kg scrubbing pressure. I find these sufficient to clean our floor tiles and a couple of carpets in the room. I’m sure it won’t beat my Dyson vacuum cleaner in terms of suction power, but it’s more than enough.

As it goes through carpets, the mops get lifted to keep the carpets dry. You can modify this behaviour through the app and set different settings for different carpets around the house (i.e., things may or may not work if you have thicker carpets).

When you start the cleaning job (which can be done in multiple ways, but I find it easier from the app), the cleaning station first prepares the water by electrolysing it, removing 99% of bacteria, which is ideal for babies. If you enable the detergent feature, the station will also apply a cleaning solution from the self-contained reservoir.

When the cleaning routine has been completed and the bot returns to the station (again, this behaviour can be tweaked in the app):

• The dry waste is transferred into the dustbox
• The wet waste goes into the dirty water tank
• The mops are automatically cleaned with AI Adaptive Hot-Water washing
• The mops are then dried with 40-degree Celsius air to prevent mould and odours

Everything is a totally hands-free operation, which is quite neat.

The 2.5L base station dust bag will need to be replaced one day, which is not my favourite aspect. While it utilises dust compression with high pressure to fit more dust before you have to replace the bag, it’s still something you’ll need to do in the future. Like other vacuum robots, you typically have to buy the bag specifically from the brand, and it’s not something you can just grab from your local supermarket. This would require a delivery cost but more importantly, an assumption that the brand will keep producing the bag for years to come.

Speaking of the app, there are other numerous settings you can tweak and customise to your preferences within the app. You can also:

• Schedule your cleaning routines
• Check past cleaning history
• Specify what type of cleaning routine you’d like the bot to do, and in which rooms

The amount of customisation and features you can choose from is staggering (in a good way). I’m really amazed at how much functionality the team has packed into this tiny bot and all the different, thoughtful tech crammed inside.

NARWAL FREO Z ULTRA REVIEW CONCLUSION

The Narwal Freo Z Ultra is a testament to how far robotic cleaning technology has come. It’s not just a vacuum cleaner or a mop; it’s a sophisticated piece of equipment that combines advanced AI, precise navigation, and intelligent cleaning strategies. The sheer amount of technology packed into this compact device is truly impressive – from its obstacle recognition capabilities to its adaptive cleaning methods and smart app integration.

While it may not completely replace traditional cleaning methods for every scenario, the Freo Z Ultra certainly raises the bar for what we can expect from robotic cleaners. Its ability to handle both vacuuming and mopping, coupled with its self-cleaning station, makes it a compelling option for those looking to automate their home cleaning routine.

However, it’s worth noting that all this technology is not 100% perfect and comes at a price, both in terms of the initial investment and the ongoing need for proprietary dust bags. Yet, for many users, the time saved and the convenience offered may well justify the cost.

In the end, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra represents a significant leap forward in robotic cleaning technology. It’s a glimpse into a future where our homes are not just smart, but actively work to keep themselves clean with minimal human intervention. It’s a truly impressive cleaning equipment packed with technology that I’ve ever encountered so far.

Disclosure: Narwal Freo Z Ultra review sample was supplied for reviewing