'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI hands-on: Multi-purpose cleaning and mopping robot with video surveillance feature
Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI robot vacuum
pros and cons
- Multi-function sweeping and mopping robot
- Obstacle avoidance camera
- Will recharge and return to finish cleaning area
- Configurable multi-level no-go zones and areas
- Remote control video and microphone feature
- Difficult to connect to app
- Video butler performance variable
- Gets stuck on high thresholds
The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI is a floor-sweeping and mopping robot that has every feature you could need in a multi-purpose robot -- and a video and microphone that can scan your home whilst you are away.
The Ozmo T8 AIVI robot has laser mapping and navigation using its sensor on the top of the robot, and it uses AIVI (Artificial Intelligence and Visual Interpretation) technology for its camera module.
SEE: Robotics in the enterprise(ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature) | Download the free PDF version (TechRepublic)
The robot maps your home and will clean zones, areas, and rooms on different floors, as well as letting you control it manually. It increases its suction power when it transitions from a hard surface to carpet, yet it is quiet in operation.
The robot will clean for almost two hours before it returns to the charging dock. After it has charged in the dock, the T8 AIVI will return to finish cleaning the remaining area. This feature can be turned off in the app if needed.
I had a lot of issues connecting to the Ecovacs app. I needed to have the robot and my mobile device within three meters of the access point for Wi-Fi connection to happen, and when I moved the docking station to a different part of the house, the Deebot showed that it was offline.
However, once I managed to re-connect to the app, the settings in the app were easy to configure.
Top ZDNET Reviews
The app settings allow you to set advanced mode, which means you can specify particular areas to be cleaned. You can also set virtual boundaries, and maps for different floor levels.
Other settings in the app control the vacuum power, water flow level for the mop, and allow you to auto-boost the suction power when transitioning onto carpets.
The app has a video butler, which shows you a view of what the T8 AIVI can see when it is on a cleaning cycle.
The objects the robot recognizes are socks, shoes, slippers, cables, clothes, clothes, floor mats, and its charging dock.
Unlike the Roborock S6 MaxV, the Deebot T8 AIVI does not recognize pet waste.
I tested this with the plastic pet poop model that Roborock supplied with its robot vacuum, and I noticed that the Deebot moved the pet poop to the side of the carpet (imagine the smearing!)
The AIVI obstacle smart recognition needs a well–lit environment for the camera to work effectively, so it will not work during night-time cleaning cycles in the dark.
You can set a password to enter the video manager page to prevent any unauthorized access. Using the app, you can monitor your home with the live streaming feature of the camera that will check for pets, open doors, or even items missed due to obstacles.
Each time I tried to start the video (which 'takes a few seconds, please be patient'), the video failed to load.
I took the robot to within one meter of my Wi-Fi access point and tried to start the video butler feature. After 30 seconds of waiting, the app screen timed out and displayed a reset button. I tried for an hour before giving up.
Later, after manually driving the robot around the room using the controls, the video manager sprang into life. It allowed me to drive the robot to different parts of the house manually, take photos using the app, and use voice activation to speak through the robot's microphone feature.
This confused the dog who knew that I was physically in another room. The video is a neat feature to use, but you do need the patience to get it going and the connection is variable.
If the T8 AIVI can't clean the floor due to an object lying on the floor, the robot will send a notification to the app, showing any areas that were missed during the cleaning cycle and suggesting that the objects are removed. This feature works well.
Like the Roborock S6 MaxV, the T8 AIVI could not cross higher thresholds but did not try to find another route over -- unlike the Roborock.
Perhaps it is a little less rugged at climbing than the S6 MaxV.
Mopping is effective. Ecovacs commissioned a third-party test center to evaluate the effectiveness of bacteria removal.
The floor was sprayed with bacteria, and the T8 AIVI was used to mop the floor with the mopping settings set to max suction, medium water level, and a time of 8 minutes.
The tests showed that the bacterial removal was 96.86% effective.
At full water level settings, suction max, and operating time of 20 minutes, the bacteria removal rate averaged 99.26%.
The mopping works well -- but not if you have a particularly filthy floor. Like the Roborock S6 MaxV, the Deebot Ozmo's 240ml water tank is for daily mopping only.
If you need a floor washing robot, you need something like the ILife W400 Shinebot which has a roller to scrub the floors and a squeegee to dry them afterward.
The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI is priced at $799 -- the same price as the Roborock S6 MaxV -- and has similar features. It would be hard to choose one robot over the other.
If you want the peace of mind that remote video monitoring and voice will give you, then get the Deebot Osmo T8 AIVI. If you need your robot to navigate around any pet poop, then you need the Roborock S6 Max V.
Both are excellent robots that will meet your expectations and will give you a set-it-and-forget-it cleaning and mopping schedule to keep your home or office clean.