Matic gets FCC waiver it didn't need

The FCC added the Matic robot vacuum and its charging dock to its ban waiver list on Oct. 2. The Verge reports that the move allows the FCC to approve these products for import, marketing and sale, but the Matic didn't need a waiver.

Matic's radios were already approved years ago. The company ships its robot with an off-the-shelf Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip that gets its own FCC approval, the same kind found in desktop computers. And Matic assembles its robots in Mountain View, California, so an import ban doesn't apply to it.

The waiver could help if Matic ever builds new products overseas and tries to import them, but the FCC granted it for those specific existing models, not a blanket approval for a product line.

Still, the waiver may not be purely symbolic. The Verge notes that the FCC is working to close loopholes in its ban and may require manufacturers to disclose all components. While Matic assembles in the US, it doesn't yet meet the 65 percent US-sourced component threshold for a "Made in the USA" label. The waiver could protect it if any foreign component runs afoul of future rules.

"At the moment we might be the only floor cleaning robot built in America," Matic co-founder and CEO Mehul Nariyawala told The Verge. "That is becoming one of the key value propositions for our product."

Nariyawala says Matic has expanded production from 1,500 robots a year ago to 17,000 now and is looking for more US suppliers. The company gets its core compute from Nvidia and sources critical components from US companies when possible.

For buyers, this doesn't change anything immediately. The Matic remains a robot vacuum that's assembled in the US, which may matter if you prefer to support domestic manufacturing. The waiver is more a reflection of the company's existing practices than a regulatory escape.

• FCC
• Matic
• robot vacuum
• The Verge
• US manufacturing
• waiver