Dyson 360 Eye sees 70,000 people sign up to join the robot revolution
Ahead of the launch of its first robot vacuum cleaner, Dyson has announced £382 million profits.
It looks like the Dyson 360 Eye could clean up. Announcing a profit of £382m, Dyson also revealed that more than 70,000 people in 190 countries have signed up to show their interest in the company's first robot vacuum cleaner.
Profits for the British company, founded in 1993 by entrepreneur James Dyson, rose five percent in 2013 to £382 million on revenues of £1.3 billion. Sales of Dyson's cordless vacuums doubled in Japan during the last year, leading to Dyson becoming the market leader in Japan by value of vacuums sold, even as the strong Yen affected the company's performance. Dyson is already the UK's market leader, by both value and number of vacuums sold.
The 360 Eye is Dyson's first automated floor cleaner, following in the wandering path of the Neato , Roomba and other robot vacuum cleaners. The Dyson model has a 360-degree camera and infrared sensors to detect obstacles, and it connects to an app on your Android or iOS phone or tablet to issue the vacuum with its marching orders.
The Dyson 360 Eye is set to go on sale in spring 2015, but only in Japan. It'll cost 130,000 Yen (directly converted, that's roughly $1,250, £750, or AU$1,320). It'll start hoovering other countries later in the year.
Dyson also plans a £250 million expansion of its research and development laboratories in Wiltshire, with a new technology campus in Malmesbury expected to create 3,000 engineering jobs.