Dyson, who developed the bagless G-Force vacuum cleaner, was in Tokyo to launch his latest machine, the DC12, developed specifically with the cleanliness obsessed Japanese in mind.

Priced at between 70,000 and 80,000 yen (620 and 708 dollars), it is possibly the world's most expensive domestic vacuum cleaner.

"Our aim was (the new vacuum cleaner) should fit inside a 200 by 250 by 300 milimetre (eight inches by 10 inches by 12 inches) cube," Dyson said at a press conference.

"It involved developing a new technology, a miniature motor, a new cyclone system, and new storage system for the hose and wand."

"It is also the first vacuum cleaner to communicate by phone," he added.

If a mobile phone is held next to the cleaner, the individual serial number "and the entire history of the vacuum cleaner can be downloaded to our callcentre."

Dyson, 57, said he was prompted to develop his first vacuum cleaner, the G-Force, in the early 1980s because he was frustrated with his conventional cleaner that lost suction power as the dust bag filled up.

He invented a centrifugal system that separates dirt from the air in a

"cyclone" action caused by spinning air, with a constant level of suction.

His distinctive machines with clear dust buckets and gold and purple colour schemes have achieved design icon status.

Gordon Thom, chairman of Dyson's Japanese unit, said the new machine cost about three and a half times as much as an average vacuum cleaner, but that was justified by the technology.

The DC12 has a "switch reluctance" motor invented by Dyson, which is half the size and weight of conventional motors, yet produces 50 percent more power.

The centrifugal force generated to separate out dirt and dust as small as cigarette smoke particles without bags or filters is equivalent to 200,000 times normal gravitational pull.

Although the company currently sells only about 25,000 Dyson cleaners a year here in a market of six million, Thom said he hoped to achieve annual sales of around 600,000 units or 10 percent of the market.

The DC12 goes on sale here next month, and although designed exclusively for Japan, Dyson said it would probably eventually be sold in all 35 countries where the company is present.

SPACE.WIRE