Robotin R2 Pro Enters Beta Testing in 30 Homes

Robotin has opened applications for the Robotin R2 Pro Early Beta Tester Programme, placing 30 final prototypes into real homes for three months before manufacturing begins. The programme is open to Kickstarter backers only, and places are released in three phases.

The R2 Pro is a modular robot that vacuums carpet and also washes and dries it, using heated water, dual dirt-lifter brushes and a wet-extraction motor rather than the damp pad most robots drag across hard floor. Everything about that process behaves differently on a real carpet in a real house than it does on test flooring, which is the reason this programme exists.

The short version

• 30 places in total, released in three phases.
• Three months per tester, starting when the unit arrives.
• Kickstarter backers only. Every application is checked against the backer record by hand.
• No cost. Robotin covers shipping and any import duty, and never asks for payment details.
• Testers receive the full R2 Pro package as a final prototype, not a retail unit.
• The prototype is separate from the pledge reward. Backers still receive a final manufactured unit from the production run either way.
• Open to the countries Robotin's backers are in, apart from those the company cannot legally ship to.

Why test before manufacturing rather than after

Most hardware problems are cheap to fix before tooling is finalised and expensive afterwards. A firmware change is a download. A change to how a brush housing drains is a new mould.

Carpet makes that gap wider than usual. Pile height, fibre type, backing, dye, underlay and how long a stain has been sitting all change what happens when heated water goes in and dirty water comes out. A test rig covers a handful of combinations. Thirty homes across several countries cover a great many more, including the ones nobody would think to build deliberately.

A lab floor tells you the robot works. A lived-in home tells you whether it works well enough.

What the 30 testers actually do

The commitment runs across the full three months rather than the first excited fortnight. Selected testers:

• set the robot up and use it on their own floors as they normally would;
• send short written reports on how it is performing;
• send short video reports showing the robot working, and the carpet before and after;
• answer a brief question form every week or two;
• join an occasional call when something needs talking through directly;
• report faults, safety concerns and anything unexpected straight away.

Reports go to the engineering team rather than a support queue. Faults are the point rather than a problem, and testers are never charged for them.

What this means for the shipping timeline

Beta testing sits before manufacturing in the sequence, not after it. Prototypes go out, three months of use in real homes produces a list of changes, the ones that matter get made, and production follows.

Robotin is not publishing a shipping date off the back of this. Backers are updated through the Kickstarter campaign, and the honest position is that a programme designed to find problems should be allowed to find them. A date announced now would be a guess, and a guess that slips is worse than no date at all.

What is fixed is the relationship between the two: the beta unit is a prototype on evaluation, and the pledge reward is a final manufactured unit from the production run. Those are separate items on separate timelines, and taking part in one does not change the other.

Why the programme is backers only

The people who funded the robot before it existed get first access to it. That is the whole reason, and it is why applications are matched against the Kickstarter backer record by hand rather than opened to anyone who fills in a form.

Selection is not first come, first served either. Robotin picks a deliberate spread of households by flooring type, carpet area, pets and family size, so the results reflect the range of homes the robot will live in. A strong application can still miss a phase because there is already a similar home in it.

The programme at a glance

Detail	What applies
Places	30 in total, in three phases
Test period	Three months from arrival
Eligibility	Kickstarter backers of the Robotin R2, 18 or over
Regions	Countries Robotin's backers are in, subject to shipping and export rules
What arrives	The full R2 Pro package, as a final prototype
Cost to the tester	None. Shipping and import duty covered
Pledge reward	Unaffected. A final manufactured unit arrives separately
Return	Possible but not certain, and paid for by Robotin if asked
Feedback	Written and video reports, a form every week or two, occasional calls

How to apply

Applications are open now on the beta tester registration page. It takes a couple of minutes and asks for the email address used for the Kickstarter pledge, the backer number, and some detail about the floors in the home.

The full conditions, including how personal data is handled and what happens at the end of the test period, are set out in the beta tester terms and conditions.

Anyone who has not backed the project yet can join the campaign on Kickstarter and apply afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

When will the Robotin R2 Pro ship?

No shipping date has been announced. Beta testing runs for three months and comes before manufacturing, so production follows the changes that testing produces. Backers are updated directly through the Kickstarter campaign.

Can I buy the Robotin R2 Pro yet?

Not yet. The R2 Pro is pre-launch and is not on sale on the Robotin website. It is funded through Kickstarter, and the beta prototypes are supplied for evaluation rather than sold.

Who can join the beta tester programme?

Confirmed Kickstarter backers of the Robotin R2 who are 18 or over, have carpet at home, and can receive a delivery at a residential address Robotin is able to ship to. Applications must use the same email address as the pledge.

Do beta testers keep the robot?

Sometimes, and it cannot be promised at application time. Robotin may ask for the prototype back depending on the state of the unit and what the testing turns up, and pays the shipping if it does. Either way the tester still receives their pledge reward.

Is the beta unit the same as my Kickstarter reward?

No. The beta unit is a final prototype supplied for testing. The pledge reward is a separate final manufactured unit from the production run, and it arrives on the campaign's own timeline whether or not someone beta tests.

How many beta testers will there be?

Thirty in total, released across three phases. Applying does not guarantee a place, because places are allocated to give a spread of flooring types, carpet areas, pets and household sizes.