what makes you think that, Grant?
besides the roto head, how is it all that different from a walk behind porty?
(with all the same warts they have) e.g can't get all the way to the bases board, cumbersome and not as maneuverable in tight spaces as a wand (try cleaning a closet, bathroom or under and around lots of desks/cubicles)
as far as the res rental market, you carrying that 135 pound machine upstairs?
It'll never fly with the pros that use portys in the res market ...just too cumbersome for that application and not as versatile as the typical clam shell design porty and wand
it's a niche machine suited best for wide open com
I'll go on record and say this is certainly NOT the death knell of the clam shell porty and wand
..L.T.A.
I understand. We just differ on a few things. I am not suggesting this is the death knell for anything. What I am saying is that this unit will bring some considerable percentage of HOSS 700 performance to a walk behind not much bigger than a RugDoctor that - right now - at release costs $6k.
Given that this seems the first machine of its' kind, it seems logical to presume that his machine will be the poorest implementation of the machine. It is the first production model. There will be lessons learnt and there will be improvement and enhancement and things will get lighter and easier to operate and cheaper.
Right now this unit is a tool for specialist CGD work. But In it I see the potential for a lot more to happen and no doubt the MUCH cleverer than I people at
Sapphire; who have actually built the unit and by all accounts are first to market - have realised the potential future applications for the machine. And with them, new markets, segments of existing markets etc.
I see a Lot of potential for a RugDoctor to 'borrow" from this tech and give it's DIY systems a substantial kick in the behind.
If it can compete with other pro methods is not the whole point.
The point is, shield any of the above happen, they show - unarguably that things will not simply just be content to stay as they are. And savvy people will want to be trey into to "read ahead" if they can to make future plans.
I have no idea what the machine is like, just watched a video and that's it. You got me. I don't pretend to know. I am just saynf what struck me the moment I saw it. To encapsulate that thought.....
"This is how they will make cheaper, smaller gear clean better with less".
Grant