There’s an unspoken agreement we have with our current robot vacuums. They handle the mundane, everyday dust, and in return, we handle the sudden, chaotic messes ourselves. It’s a decent partnership that keeps the floors generally tidy, but it always requires two separate tools and two different mindsets for cleaning. A startup named xLean, however, is proposing a radical new treaty at IFA 2025 with its debut TR1 robot. This device is engineered to be both your autonomous floor cleaner and, with a quick transformation, the powerful handheld tool you grab the moment your toddler redecorates the kitchen floor with yogurt.
The company, a startup spun out of a top robotics institute and staffed by veterans from places like DJI and Roborock, is making a bold claim. They believe the next leap in cleaning intelligence isn’t just about avoiding more obstacles, it’s about a robot learning to clean with human intent. The TR1 is their Trojan horse for this idea, a device that watches how you clean up a spill in its handheld form and then applies that knowledge when it’s back in robot mode. It’s a fascinating, almost sci-fi concept grounded in a piece of hardware that looks thoughtfully engineered and ready for the real world.
Designer: xLean
That one-second switch from autonomous robot to handheld cleaner is the core of the entire experience. It’s not a clumsy, multi-step process; an electric lock disengages the main unit, and you’re ready to tackle a sudden mess. This dual-form design is the only way the robot can access its “Self-Evolving Intelligence.” By using the RGB-D camera, green laser sensor, and motor encoders in handheld mode, the TR1 records your movements and habits. It learns your specific approach to cleaning, a process known as Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback, or RLHF. This collected data, anonymized with user consent, is then used to refine its cleaning algorithms, meaning the robot actually gets smarter and more aligned with your preferences over time through OTA updates.
Of course, a clever learning system is meaningless if the fundamental cleaning is weak, especially in handheld mode where you’re dealing with the worst messes. This is where xLean’s engineering team seems to have put in the hours, developing what they call Dual-Motor DirectSuction. Instead of a typical vacuum-then-mop system, the TR1 uses high negative pressure to suck up solids and liquids simultaneously. The real magic is the VortexMatrix Separation Technology, a system refined over three years and nearly 40 prototypes to solve the physics puzzle of separating air and liquid inside a low-profile body. Paired with dual rollers spinning at 800 RPM, it has the raw power to handle anything from spilled cereal to a sticky juice disaster without just smearing it around.
The intelligence extends to its robot form as well. Its square body and impressive 6mm-level edge cleaning ability ensure it gets into the corners that circular robots famously miss. The navigation is powered by Reinforcement Learning, trained across millions of simulated scenarios to handle complex environments like a maze of chair legs without getting stuck. It maps a 150-square-meter space in just three minutes and uses a combination of Vision and LiDAR for object recognition, identifying over 400 different household obstacles. For the privacy-conscious, there is a physical “Red Line” camera shutter that slides over the lens, giving you a clear visual confirmation that it isn’t watching when you don’t want it to.
Once the cleaning is done, the TR1 returns to its OMNI Station, a base that’s as innovative as the robot itself. It features what xLean claims is the world’s first disposal system designed for mixed solid-liquid waste, so you don’t have to deal with the gross slurry yourself. The station then performs a full-path flush with 60°C hot water to clean the robot’s internal tubing and rollers, followed by a self-drying cycle. For total automation, the station is even designed to be upgraded for direct water refills and drainage, eliminating the need to ever touch a water tank again. It’s a complete, end-to-end system that seems to have considered every user pain point.
It’s clear the team at xLean is playing the long game. They talk about the TR1 as the first step toward general-purpose robotics, a platform to validate their core technologies at scale. The integration with the Apple ecosystem, including Matter and HomeKit support, shows they understand the importance of seamless smart home control. They’ve even built the hardware to be modular, hinting at future upgrades that could unlock new capabilities. With a global Kickstarter launch planned soon after its IFA debut, the xLean TR1 feels like a confident and compelling answer to the question of what comes next for home cleaning. It’s a robot that doesn’t just work for you; it learns from you.
The post This Robot Vacuum Watches You Clean, Then Learns to Copy You: xLean TR1 Hands On at IFA 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.