Last June we showed you this Migo Ascender, a stair-climbing robot vacuum:

That's an animation, of course. But now developer Migo Robotics has finally produced the real deal, with both vacuuming and mopping functionality.

On floors it behaves like an ordinary robot vacuum. When it vacuums stairs, however, the internal roller rotates 90 degrees and the unit moves laterally.

The company says the unit can climb a broad range of stairway types:

In between cleanings, the camera- and LIDAR-equipped unit docks itself in a cooler-sized recharging station. The dock also automatically empties the dustbin and changes the water, the company says. (You, of course, have to change the dock's dust bags, refill the removable clean water tank, and empty the removable dirty water tank.)

They also claim the unit can cover 500 square meters (5,380 square feet) on a single charge.

While I'm impressed by the engineering that went into this, I'm skeptical of a $1,500 product this complicated from a company that hasn't yet established a track record. How much mopping can it really do, with a 6-oz tank? How well does the automatic dustbin emptying work? Where do you take the thing if it breaks?

As usual, my skepticism is not shared by Kickstarter backers, who have propelled the Ascender to $1.6-million-plus and counting, with 35 days left to pledge at press time. Perhaps they were lured by the discount: Though it's meant to retail for $1,500, the Kickstarter offerings start at $850, with an estimated July delivery.

Here's a demo video, if you're interested:

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