News Brief: Dyson released its 360-Eye in Japan today — for about $1200 USD — and has also filed legal proceedings against Bosch, alleging that their longstanding rival is cheating EU energy efficiency ratings for its vacuums. Update 28/10/15: Bosch is now suing Dyson for false allegations. 

On Singles Day, a made-up holiday for the Chinese singles and youth market, Ecovacs sold $24.8 million worth of robotic products, mostly their robotic vacuum cleaners.

Dyson’s new robot vacuum, the 360 Eye, is scheduled will hit the Japanese market in spring 2015. Why is Japan the first (and for the time being, only) market to get this hot new commodity?

Recent robotic vacuum cleaner product launches by Dyson and Samsung have transformed what once was a niche market of early adopters and robot enthusiasts into a marketplace of serious consumer products for home cleaning.

James Dyson announced his new 360 Eye robotic vacuum cleaner, which goes on sale in Japan later this year for $1,250. It will then be available in the UK, Europe, China and Australia later in 2015.

Sharp have updated their Cocorobo line of intelligent robot vacuum cleaners, with a new smaller model, as well as a Cocorobo Navi function, which allows the robot to be controlled when the user is outside the home.

Cocorobo Navi can be used to visually map out your house creating a floor plan, letting the robot know where objects are placed, so you can directly specify where the robot should go.