DJI just received a number of Matter certifications for its robot vacuum cleaners, arriving shortly after the company officially joined the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) in December.
It is not surprising to see the drone giant follow the Matter trend, as its major competitors are already embracing the standard and releasing new firmware updates. At this time, adopting Matter is also a great opportunity for DJI to rebuild its credits. By shifting to local operation, the company can move past the recent camera leak scandal and provide users with a more secure, cloud-free experience.
What is supported in Matter
The certifications suggest the vacuums will operate over Wi-Fi and support the newer Matter 1.4.2 spec. Based on the certification documents, the devices are heavily utilizing Matter’s advanced robotic vacuum features.
The implementation includes the RVC Clean Mode and RVC Run Mode clusters, which allow smart home platforms to read the supported cleaning modes, check the current operating mode (e.g. vacuuming and mopping), and send commands to change those modes.
More importantly, the vacuums utilize the Service Area cluster, indicating native support for cleaning room selection. You will be able to view the area list, select specific areas or rooms for cleaning, skip designated zones, and track the cleaning progress.
The certification also details a comprehensive Operational State cluster. The vacuums will support standard commands like pause, resume, and return to dock. The device can also report specific hardware error states directly to the smart home platform, such as a missing dustbin or jammed brushes.
The ROMO series
If these certifications apply to the current lineup, they will likely target the newly launched DJI ROMO series, consisting of the ROMO P, A, and S models. As a leading high-tech drone company, expectations were exceptionally high for DJI’s entry into the automated vacuum market, and the hardware reflects that legacy.
The ROMO series borrows heavily from DJI’s aviation tech, featuring millimeter-level obstacle sensing powered by binocular fisheye vision sensors and wide-angle solid-state LiDAR. This allows the vacuum to navigate complex spaces and avoid ultra-thin objects with high precision, mapping rooms much like a drone maps terrain.
The vacuums also feature dual extendable robotic arms for complete edge and corner coverage, dual anti-tangle roller brushes, and a massive 25,000 Pa suction motor. The flagship ROMO P includes a transparent chassis design and a high-pressure water-jet self-cleaning base station designed to operate maintenance-free for up to 200 days.
Will Matter save DJI?
Despite the impressive hardware, the launch faced a significant setback when severe security vulnerabilities were disclosed by The Verge. Reports highlighted flaws in the DJI cloud infrastructure that allowed a single authenticated user to access live camera feeds, microphone audio, and 2D floor plans from thousands of ROMO units worldwide. While DJI patched the network issues shortly after they were reported, the situation severely damaged the brand's reputation in the privacy-conscious smart home space.
Matter could be exactly what DJI needs to restore consumer trust. Because the Matter protocol is designed to operate locally on the home network without relying on external cloud servers, it offers a safe, cloud-free alternative for device control. Adopting this standard may help DJI earn back credit in a highly competitive market where users are increasingly wary of cloud-dependent cameras roaming their hallways.
From a timeline perspective, successfully passing these certifications means the product software is nearing the end of its development cycle, currently in the wrapping up and fine-tuning phase for the consumer market. So we will likely see official firmware rollouts for existing ROMO models or brand-new models release very soon. DJI has yet to respond to Matter Alpha’s inquiries regarding the specific details of these certifications.
(Source: CSA; Image: DJI, Matter Alpha/Ward Zhou)
