Stone Sweeping Robot T8 Plus Review: Flagship Configuration of "Dimensionality Reduction Strike"

【【【Foreword: Stone Technology has released new products, this time is the evolution of mainstream models】】

As the current star brand of the sweeping robot industry, Stone Technology can be described as a continuous action in the spring of 2022.

Previously, in March, they launched a new sweeping robot T8, which raised the key sweep suction index to an industry-leading level in one go. At the same time, at a price of less than 3,000 yuan, the automatic dust collection function was further "decentralized", which also led the first round of "inner volume" of the sweeping robot industry this year.

Then in April, Stone Technology's new annual flagship G10S series debuted, a large number of black technology-blessed luxury navigation configuration, automatic dust collection + automatic washing mop + automatic water replenishment of the all-round base station, coupled with the current industry's highest level of suction, once again defined the "top sweeping robot" should have the product indicators.

And when the time came to the beginning of May, Stone Technology shot again. This time, they are aiming at the mid-to-high-end product range between the T8 and G10S series, and the corresponding product is the T8 Plus that came to our Sanyi Life Evaluation Room a few days ago.

【【【Product analysis: the industry's highest level of suction + proprietary floor wiping design】】

I have to say that the product name of the Stone T8 Plus is actually a little "misleading", because it is easy to mistakenly think that it is an "enhanced version" of the T8.

But in fact, from the configuration point of view, T8 Plus actually has many details closer to its flagship product G10S series.

For example, in the sensor scheme of obstacle avoidance and navigation, T8 Plus on the one hand continues the classic top lidar configuration of Stone's products, on the other hand, it uses the same structured light active ranging + infrared fill light design as the flagship G10S series, which makes it possible to independently avoid obstacles and build maps in the nearly all-black room, and the ranging accuracy can be as high as millimeters.

Thanks to the new "AI Obstacle Avoidance 2.0" algorithm, T8 Plus can also identify 27 types of obstacles such as shoes, bases, plug boards, scales, etc., and actively mark them on the map, so as to actively avoid in advance in subsequent cleaning.

For example, in the hardware design of sweeping and vacuuming functions, T8 Plus on the one hand continues the family-style floating rubber brush + unilateral brush design, on the other hand, the suction power is increased from 2500Pa of the previous generation (T7S Plus) to 5100Pa.

What is this concept? This means that T8 Plus has achieved complete consistency with flagship products in the key technical indicator of "suction", and it is also the current industry-leading level. Coupled with the pure glue brush patented by Stone Technology, it is closer to the ground than the brush on other sweeping robots, and further strengthens its "bottom" in sweeping and vacuuming.

Not only that, in the relevant configuration of mopping, T8 Plus also adopts the same model as the G10S series, and at the same time, it is also the landmark of Stone Technology's lifting sound wave vibration module design.

That is to say, when the floor is not mopped (or the carpet is detected), its mop will be automatically raised and "far away" from the ground, so that even if you forget to remove the mop, you will not get the wet board. When it is necessary to mop the floor, the active lifting bracket can play a role in "pressing" the mop on the ground in disguise, enhancing the cleaning strength of the mop.

At the same time, compared with the rotary mopping module common in the industry, the sonic vibration mop ensures that the entire mop is in closer contact with the ground during the process of operation, and has a much higher (3000 times/min) operating frequency. Coupled with the fact that the mop cloth patented by Stone Technology adopts a partitioned design of "intermediate vibration disintegration, surrounding wiping and absorption", which also makes it avoid the embarrassment that the rotating mop may throw dirty water out during the mopping process.

Of course, T8 Plus is not the flagship product of Stone Technology this year, so although its "fuselage" is integrated into the configuration of many flagship models, its base part adopts the same specifications of the T8. That is, this year's newly designed dust collection + charging dual-function base does not have the ability to automatically wash the mop or fill the water tank.

That being said, the T8 Plus's base is quite innovative compared to other pure dust collection bases on the market. On the one hand, it uses plastic, rather than the common kraft paper, as a self-sealing material, avoiding the problem of seal failure after the dust bag is wet. On the other hand, its dust bag has E12-level filtration characteristics, coupled with a large capacity of 2.5L, which can basically ensure that it can be used with peace of mind for more than two months before it needs to be replaced once. Not only does it save the cost of use in the later stage, but more importantly, it also reduces the frequency of manual operation by the user, and it is indeed more worry-free.

【【Software experience: 3D map is full of fun, there are many choices of cleaning modes】】

Like other new stone sweeping robots on the market this year, T8 Plus can theoretically be compatible with both Mijia and Roborock apps for control. However, it is worth noting that the two apps cannot be used at the same time, and the sweeping robot can only be paired with one of the apps at a time. However, because the interface and functions of the two are basically the same, we still chose Stone Technology's own Roborock for everyone to demonstrate.

The pairing experience of the stone sweeping robot has always been very simple, after powering on the dust collector and placing the sweeping robot in the charging position, open the WiFi and Bluetooth of the mobile phone, and then start the APP after it is turned on to automatically find the new machine to be paired.

After the pairing is completed, the APP will first prompt for some necessary initial settings. Obviously, thanks to the use of structured light ranging hardware, T8 Plus is also the same as Stone Technology's flagship product this year, which has been specially optimized and adapted for environments with more homes and pets.

At the same time, thanks to the built-in latest RR MASON 9.0 self-developed navigation algorithm, T8 Plus now also has a "quick map" function. That is to say, instead of starting the sweeping and dragging function in the first run, the range sensors such as lidar + structured light + ultrasonic will be opened to quickly "turn around" indoors and complete the map creation with the fastest speed. According to our actual measurements, in this mode, T8 Plus completed the construction of our test small room in only 1 minute, which is nearly ten times faster than before.

After the drawing was completed, T8 Plus automatically identified the obstacles that we deliberately placed in the center of the room, and could manually specify the type of floor of the room and even tell the specific location of some of its large furniture through the built-in map editing function of the APP. The result of these edits will eventually be presented as a 3D map that can be rotated, dragged, and zoomed in at will. I have to say that the sense of technology and playability are quite high, and it is indeed very practical.

Of course, when it comes to practicality, the most critical thing is to look at the design of the APP in the cleaning related functions. As The app of Stone Technology, Roborock's "shortcut" is undoubtedly one of its major features. Here, users can plan a specific cleaning area and cleaning mode combination in advance, and then in the APP, they can automatically execute the robot with one click.

If you want more detailed manual control cleaning, T8 Plus naturally supports the same. And unlike similar products currently on the market, it can support pure sweeping or pure mopping mode, and there is an additional deep cleaning option in both modes.

Even if you need a more detailed small-scale fixed-point cleaning, then the classic "where to point" and "remote control mode" of Stone's products have also been retained on the T8 Plus, and it is actually possible to drive it as a remote control car (laughs).

【【Sweeping test: The suction upgrade effect is obvious, and the selection sweep has surprises】】

Finally, it is natural to use actual tests to test the cleaning ability of the Stone T8 Plus.

The first was the test of the suction ability, we sprinkled a lot of simulated dust on the floor, and in order to increase the difficulty, we also specially "added" to the corner position.

In terms of results, the T8 Plus can be said to have brought a surprise. It can be seen that it only takes one cleaning to almost completely remove the "dust" on the path, and even the dirt on the corner of the wall has not missed much.

More importantly, throughout the cleaning process, we noticed that the T8 Plus's unilateral brush design was very efficient in sweeping dust to the middle of the fuselage and making it easier for the roller brush to absorb, while there was almost no "flying" of dust. From this point of view, it is not difficult to find that the stone has never "only" equipped its sweeping robot with unilateral brushes, not to save costs, but to have practical utility considerations.

Secondly, we also used a marker pen to write on the floor to simulate stubborn oily stains and cleaned them using the T8 Plus to turn on the floor wipe mode. Obviously, for the vibrating wiping unit of 3,000 times per minute, such a "stain" is not enough to see, and the vast majority of the handwriting has been erased with just one sweep.

To verify the ability of the T8 Plus mopping unit to absorb and contain dirt, we also sprinkled a pool of tahini on the floor. As a result, the T8 Plus still only used one cleaning to cleanly solve these liquid stains on the road, and there was no observation of sewage being "thrown" out of the mopping unit during the whole process.

How does the T8 Plus do it? On the one hand, as mentioned in the previous article, its vibratory mopping unit has a much higher frequency of action than the conventional rotary mopping unit, and it is by lifting the mechanical arm, not simply the self-weight "pressing" on the ground, which naturally gives it a stronger mopping ability. On the other hand, the material of the trailer itself and the electronically controlled slow-release water tank used by the T8 Plus obviously play a key role in firmly adsorbing dirt while avoiding excessive water flowing to the ground.

【【【Summary: Flagship configuration, mainstream price, another "dimensionality reduction blow" of Stone Technology】】

I have to say that after finishing this review, we found that the Stone T8 Plus is really a more interesting product than we initially expected.

First of all, from its own scientific and technological configuration and core capabilities, T8 Plus has actually "benchmarked" its own flagship product line in many aspects. It has the same navigation and obstacle avoidance hardware as the flagship, with the flagship level, and it is also the largest vacuum suction in the industry, and also uses the most advanced self-developed mopping technology of Stone Technology. Its price is only 2799 yuan (stand-alone) / 3598 yuan (smart dust collection version) level.

This means that if you do not plan to buy a top model of more than 5,000 yuan, then the Stone T8 Plus is likely to be a cost-effective choice that can give the same level of cleaning cleanliness at a much lower price.

But this also gives rise to a new question, that is, why does Stone Technology "dare to do this"? If you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to realize that when Stone Technology devolves their core clean technology to more mainstream price segment products, it is actually "explicit", and they have a high probability of further accumulation of new technologies.

If you consider the current stone "down" to T8 Plus these navigation, cleaning configuration, in fact, can represent the current industry mass production sweeping robot the highest level, then it means that this technology company is very likely to have mastered some of the core technology of the sweeping robot, far beyond the current mainstream level of the "new gadget".

But as for what is that? Maybe the answer will be left to stone technology's next new product release to be revealed.