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I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

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Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#151

Post by ericpauley »

voiper1 wrote: post #39

I got a robo-vac, but ultimately stopped using it because of chairs and children. I had to clean up in order to run it at all, and it would get stuck under the chairs and not be able to get out. (I guess exactly the wrong sizing.) I mainly got it because my wife and I have a dust-mite allergy and cleaning the floor with water or HEPA vacuum can help. We've replaced it with a much more expensive (and totally manual) h…

I had a similar problem with the robot getting stuck under the furniture. Shimming up the legs by just a few mm did the trick.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#152

Post by 29083011397778 »

boynamedsue wrote: post #89
kaskavalci wrote: post #55

I do not trust Eufy brand anymore. We had a Eufy RoboVac and within its warranty period, battery went bust. When attached to its station, it gave some sound errors which is apparently tied to its battery. I contacted support several times, reminded their obligation for warranty period but they did nothing. They asked me to find a "certified technician" to get a report such that this malfunction was present when I mad…

I find this a little surprising because, Anker, Eufy's parent company, has a good reputation from my perspective.

Anker has utterly lost my faith - all 3 Anker QI charging pads failed within months, and the USB-C to A cables I bought more recently don't want to stay connected on the data pins.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#153

Post by trianglem »

aasasd wrote: post #14

I bought a robotic vacuum more out of curiosity and to see if I should buy one as a gift for my parents. Just one of the cheapest models that still had good reviews. It turned out that all deficiencies of such a vacuum are offset by its basic function: it keeps the apartment clean each day, every day. Dirty corners? Weak suction? Small container? Somewhat noisy? Not too smart? Gets stuck sometimes? I need to clean ha…

The killer feature for me would be if it could empty its dust container in a secondary location so I didn’t have to do for a month.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#154

Post by trianglem »

jspash wrote: post #4

I'm still in the cynic camp for a few reasons. 1. My flat is small. I can do a decent vac in about 15 minutes. 30 minutes if I do under the bed. 2. When I do the "big vac", I have to move 6 dining room chairs. Then shift the table a few inches. Zoom. Shift if back. Same goes for some other legged furniture. 3. I also do the windowsills. No bot can do this. 4. Don't you end up with little arched dust patterns in every…

30 minutes is a long time. The robot vac cleaner does it’s rounds everyday. There is not way I would want to spend 30 minutes everyday on this.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#155

Post by mattmaroon »

trianglem wrote: post #153
aasasd wrote: post #14

I bought a robotic vacuum more out of curiosity and to see if I should buy one as a gift for my parents. Just one of the cheapest models that still had good reviews. It turned out that all deficiencies of such a vacuum are offset by its basic function: it keeps the apartment clean each day, every day. Dirty corners? Weak suction? Small container? Somewhat noisy? Not too smart? Gets stuck sometimes? I need to clean ha…

The killer feature for me would be if it could empty its dust container in a secondary location so I didn’t have to do for a month.

Higher end Roombas have that.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#156

Post by bdibs »

trianglem wrote: post #153
aasasd wrote: post #14

I bought a robotic vacuum more out of curiosity and to see if I should buy one as a gift for my parents. Just one of the cheapest models that still had good reviews. It turned out that all deficiencies of such a vacuum are offset by its basic function: it keeps the apartment clean each day, every day. Dirty corners? Weak suction? Small container? Somewhat noisy? Not too smart? Gets stuck sometimes? I need to clean ha…

The killer feature for me would be if it could empty its dust container in a secondary location so I didn’t have to do for a month.

Right here: https://www.wired.com/review/review-irobot-roomba-i7/

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#157

Post by noodlesUK »

I’d love a robotic vacuum. However, my house is not very flat. It has two main floors, but several rooms are offset from the main floors by about a foot or two (who knows why). Is it possible to put a small ramp on the stairs and tell the vacuums how to navigate it?

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#159

Post by daxfohl »

remmargorp64 wrote: post #141
neodymiumphish wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It keeps getting better, too! The new update makes the S5 basically the same as the newer model (except that it's louder)... I had the original RoboRock and it worked really well. We replaced the battery and gave it to my wife's grandmother, then bought the S5 thinking the mop feature would be in some way useful, but I'm still happy with how well the S5 tracks its brush/filter lifespan and the software upgrades!

Yeah, the mop feature is a joke. I took one look at it and realized that instantly. Everything else about it is pretty sweet though.

I like the mop feature. It is far from a true mopping, but still the floor feels less dusty than after just using the vacuum alone. That said, it may be a placebo effect on my part. I should do a blind test someday.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#160

Post by PeterStuer »

Getting a robot to fully path cover a surface by a random walk type algorithm is surprizingly difficult. One of the nuances most simulators do not fully grasp is that there are path rectifiers that emerge from physical interactions. Examples are collisions with walls where even though the robot comes in at a range of different angles, due to momentum and friction variance is lost and it leaves in a more narrow set of angles. Another example is grooved surfaces such as you find on wooden or tiled floors where slight angles to the groove are passively adjusted to the groove.

I worked extensively on small robotic vehicles in the 80's and 90's. My undergrad thesis was on a robotic simulator.

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