Tech Talk with Dr Al: Robot Vacuum Cleaners – The Ideal Maid!
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Note from the Editor:
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member Alan G, ‘The Tech Guy’.
Robot vacuum cleaners have a roller-brush and navigate around a room using an internal lithium rechargeable battery. When the battery becomes almost depleted, they ‘find’ their charging station and manoeuvre themselves into it.
Reaching under beds and crouching to clean other areas becomes more and more of a chore as one gets older, unfortunately, and we liked the idea of embracing the emerging technology of robot vacuum cleaners.
We were quite sceptical about the efficiency of these machines, so we put off the idea of buying one for quite some time. We’d moved into a house without any carpeted floors, so we thought it would be an ideal surface for such a device. The first one we bought was a Chinese model, and despite the relatively low price and stated long battery life, it didn’t seem to do a good job. It would race around all over the floor, ‘cleaning’ the same bits several times and missing others until the battery ran so low it would have to ‘park’ itself on its charging station. The last straw was when one of the two front brushes stopped working, and we had to get parts from overseas. We’d made up our minds then to fix it, sell it, then buy a ‘good’ one.
Features of Robot Vacuum Cleaners:
Navigable Height: Our beds are about 9cm off the floor, and we wanted a cleaner that would navigate under the bed with no problems. This feature is not often stated in the specifications of a machine but can be a deal-breaker if you have low-slung furniture.
Room Mapping: Low-priced robot vacuum cleaners often roll around the floor in a very random way with no real way of making sure the whole room is cleaned. Better/higher-priced cleaners have sensors that ‘map’ the rooms, and the software makes sure that all parts of the room are covered. These are sometimes called ‘Intelligent’ Robot Vacuum Cleaners. If the battery becomes depleted, they will return to ‘base’ to charge up, then continue from where they left off. If they are too full of dust and fluff, they will stop and either emit a signal or send a signal to your mobile phone in order that you empty the container.
The ‘mapping’ technology differs for various cleaners. It could be via sensor, camera or laser technology. The ‘sensor’ type isn’t really very smart at all, and simply moves around obstacles when it detects them. The ‘camera’ idea works best in well-lit conditions, while the laser technology works well in any light. It is by far the most efficient type.
Adjustment for Different Surfaces: Most good machines will automatically adjust their suction level to accommodate different surfaces, such as thick pile carpets or tiles.
Mopping and Cleaning: Some cleaners have the capability to vacuum the floor then to ‘mop’ the same floor using a built-in tank of water.
Automatic dust disposal: Some top-of-the-range cleaners will incorporate a dust disposal reservoir at the charging station so that you don’t have to empty the dust container every time you use the machine. This is probably worth considering, bearing in mind the difficulty in bending down as one gets older. Of course, it does not obviate the necessity to clean the sensors and other areas of the cleaner every so often. A good cleaner will remind you of this.
‘Virtual Boundary’ Posts: This is a good idea if you need to divide a room into two sections for convenience or to prevent the cleaner from falling downstairs.
Cleaning Modes: Robot vacuum cleaners often include various cleaning modes, and if it is a ‘smart’ model, these can be accessed by using a compatible app on a mobile phone. The modes are ‘Auto’, ‘Spot’ and ‘Edge’ cleaning. For everyday use (general cleaning), the 'auto' mode is used, while the 'spot' mode targets selected areas with intensified cleaning, such as high-traffic kitchens and living rooms. The 'edge' mode is designed to target tricky areas in the rooms that are more difficult to access. Selecting the right mode helps achieve optimal cleaning results tailored to different areas of your home.
Suction Power and Noise Level: Of course, one would expect any vacuum cleaner to have good suction, and this is a feature that would be mentioned in the specifications of the machine, but this often means that the cleaner is obtrusively noisy, so these features may be mutually exclusive to some extent. It appears that a comfortable noise level is around 70dB.
Battery Life: Since we’ve been using our Roomba 980, we’ve had to replace the battery once. The annoying thing is that although we could buy a battery with a larger capacity (physically the same size) the unit’s electronics prevents charging to more than the original capacity battery! Any of the more recent models have a quite acceptable capacity battery – up to 5500mAh in some cases. I think it’s an important consideration. The Roomba 980 has only a 3600mAh battery.
Price: As I have mentioned, the ‘cheaper’ robot vacuum cleaners may exclude many of the features that we really need as seniors. However, they all appear to be manufactured in China. In fact, when I researched this article, I found that very few brands are made outside China. The Dyson 360 is notable in that it is made in Malaysia, but that might not be the case for very long. I noted that well-known companies like Hoover are now owned by China, and the Roomba 980 that we own was – you guessed it – made in China. There is nothing inherently wrong with these products. There are many Chinese-made robot vacuum cleaners that actually have really good specs.
Recommendations:
We settled on buying the Roomba 980 in 2017 because it ‘ticked all the boxes’ as far as we knew, and it cleans under the bed. (The model we’d bought less than a year earlier was the iLife A4 at about $250). I felt the Roomba was overly expensive, at about $1499 RRP, since the Xiaomi Mi was about $400 at the time and did exactly the same job as the Roomba. Harvey Norman brought the price down to $1279, but we bought an ‘extended warranty’ for $180. We were happy in the fact that if we had problems, we could return it. In the fullness of time, we realised we’d made a pretty good choice – most of the robot vacuum cleaners are simply too high to clean under the beds – a very big disadvantage.
Vacuum/mop combo units are now getting to be more popular, and they may be worth considering. While they are all over the $1000 mark, I would definitely consider buying a cleaner that maps the room linked to a smart-phone app.
I recommend buying a unit that is able to be returned easily, and that has all the features you consider important. While the ‘combo’ units would appear to be a convenient way of mopping the floor as well, I am yet to be convinced of their efficacy. Choose the model with which you feel comfortable, print the advertisement including the price, then use it to obtain as good a price from a recognised retailer, such as Harvey Norman, The Good Guys or JB Hi-Fi.
Here are some examples:
iRobot Roomba Combo J5+ Robot Vacuum & Mop $1297 @ JB Hi-Fi
Xiaomi X10 Robot Vacuum and Mop Cleaner with Auto-Empty Dock $679 @ Kogan Online
Dyson 360 Vis Nav Robot Vacuum $1548 @ The Good Guys
Magivaac Laser Robot Vacuum and Mop With Auto Disposable Station RV4500 $500 @ Harris Scarfe
About the author: Having spent three years living in Australia in his youth, Alan returned to Australia in 1969 with his wife and young child. Holding a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Doctor of Science Education degree, Alan has experience in flight simulations, Einsteinian physics, and inventing an ‘eye blink’ device that allows cerebral palsy patients to communicate. He even took a turn at acting, starring in a TV advert and landing supporting and lead roles in his local dramatic society plays. His short stories have been published in WA’s The Gingin Buzz for ten years, and his novel The Magic Hourglass is a work in progress. He and his wife have a lovely life in Brisbane and regularly visit their two children in Sydney’s West. You can read Alan’s full-length bio here.
From the Editor:
This is definitely on my wish list! Especially as someone with a very fluffy dog!
We were only able to create this content because of the financial support of SDC Rewards members. If you'd like to see more of this (and a lot fewer ads!), please consider supporting us and signing up for SDC Rewards today—it starts at just $5.99 per month.
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member Alan G, ‘The Tech Guy’.
Robot vacuum cleaners have a roller-brush and navigate around a room using an internal lithium rechargeable battery. When the battery becomes almost depleted, they ‘find’ their charging station and manoeuvre themselves into it.
Reaching under beds and crouching to clean other areas becomes more and more of a chore as one gets older, unfortunately, and we liked the idea of embracing the emerging technology of robot vacuum cleaners.
We were quite sceptical about the efficiency of these machines, so we put off the idea of buying one for quite some time. We’d moved into a house without any carpeted floors, so we thought it would be an ideal surface for such a device. The first one we bought was a Chinese model, and despite the relatively low price and stated long battery life, it didn’t seem to do a good job. It would race around all over the floor, ‘cleaning’ the same bits several times and missing others until the battery ran so low it would have to ‘park’ itself on its charging station. The last straw was when one of the two front brushes stopped working, and we had to get parts from overseas. We’d made up our minds then to fix it, sell it, then buy a ‘good’ one.
Could a robot vacuum solve your cleaning woes? Image Credit: Shutterstock
Features of Robot Vacuum Cleaners:
Navigable Height: Our beds are about 9cm off the floor, and we wanted a cleaner that would navigate under the bed with no problems. This feature is not often stated in the specifications of a machine but can be a deal-breaker if you have low-slung furniture.
Room Mapping: Low-priced robot vacuum cleaners often roll around the floor in a very random way with no real way of making sure the whole room is cleaned. Better/higher-priced cleaners have sensors that ‘map’ the rooms, and the software makes sure that all parts of the room are covered. These are sometimes called ‘Intelligent’ Robot Vacuum Cleaners. If the battery becomes depleted, they will return to ‘base’ to charge up, then continue from where they left off. If they are too full of dust and fluff, they will stop and either emit a signal or send a signal to your mobile phone in order that you empty the container.
The ‘mapping’ technology differs for various cleaners. It could be via sensor, camera or laser technology. The ‘sensor’ type isn’t really very smart at all, and simply moves around obstacles when it detects them. The ‘camera’ idea works best in well-lit conditions, while the laser technology works well in any light. It is by far the most efficient type.
Adjustment for Different Surfaces: Most good machines will automatically adjust their suction level to accommodate different surfaces, such as thick pile carpets or tiles.
Mopping and Cleaning: Some cleaners have the capability to vacuum the floor then to ‘mop’ the same floor using a built-in tank of water.
Automatic dust disposal: Some top-of-the-range cleaners will incorporate a dust disposal reservoir at the charging station so that you don’t have to empty the dust container every time you use the machine. This is probably worth considering, bearing in mind the difficulty in bending down as one gets older. Of course, it does not obviate the necessity to clean the sensors and other areas of the cleaner every so often. A good cleaner will remind you of this.
‘Virtual Boundary’ Posts: This is a good idea if you need to divide a room into two sections for convenience or to prevent the cleaner from falling downstairs.
Cleaning Modes: Robot vacuum cleaners often include various cleaning modes, and if it is a ‘smart’ model, these can be accessed by using a compatible app on a mobile phone. The modes are ‘Auto’, ‘Spot’ and ‘Edge’ cleaning. For everyday use (general cleaning), the 'auto' mode is used, while the 'spot' mode targets selected areas with intensified cleaning, such as high-traffic kitchens and living rooms. The 'edge' mode is designed to target tricky areas in the rooms that are more difficult to access. Selecting the right mode helps achieve optimal cleaning results tailored to different areas of your home.
Suction Power and Noise Level: Of course, one would expect any vacuum cleaner to have good suction, and this is a feature that would be mentioned in the specifications of the machine, but this often means that the cleaner is obtrusively noisy, so these features may be mutually exclusive to some extent. It appears that a comfortable noise level is around 70dB.
Battery Life: Since we’ve been using our Roomba 980, we’ve had to replace the battery once. The annoying thing is that although we could buy a battery with a larger capacity (physically the same size) the unit’s electronics prevents charging to more than the original capacity battery! Any of the more recent models have a quite acceptable capacity battery – up to 5500mAh in some cases. I think it’s an important consideration. The Roomba 980 has only a 3600mAh battery.
Price: As I have mentioned, the ‘cheaper’ robot vacuum cleaners may exclude many of the features that we really need as seniors. However, they all appear to be manufactured in China. In fact, when I researched this article, I found that very few brands are made outside China. The Dyson 360 is notable in that it is made in Malaysia, but that might not be the case for very long. I noted that well-known companies like Hoover are now owned by China, and the Roomba 980 that we own was – you guessed it – made in China. There is nothing inherently wrong with these products. There are many Chinese-made robot vacuum cleaners that actually have really good specs.
Recommendations:
We settled on buying the Roomba 980 in 2017 because it ‘ticked all the boxes’ as far as we knew, and it cleans under the bed. (The model we’d bought less than a year earlier was the iLife A4 at about $250). I felt the Roomba was overly expensive, at about $1499 RRP, since the Xiaomi Mi was about $400 at the time and did exactly the same job as the Roomba. Harvey Norman brought the price down to $1279, but we bought an ‘extended warranty’ for $180. We were happy in the fact that if we had problems, we could return it. In the fullness of time, we realised we’d made a pretty good choice – most of the robot vacuum cleaners are simply too high to clean under the beds – a very big disadvantage.
Vacuum/mop combo units are now getting to be more popular, and they may be worth considering. While they are all over the $1000 mark, I would definitely consider buying a cleaner that maps the room linked to a smart-phone app.
I recommend buying a unit that is able to be returned easily, and that has all the features you consider important. While the ‘combo’ units would appear to be a convenient way of mopping the floor as well, I am yet to be convinced of their efficacy. Choose the model with which you feel comfortable, print the advertisement including the price, then use it to obtain as good a price from a recognised retailer, such as Harvey Norman, The Good Guys or JB Hi-Fi.
Here are some examples:
iRobot Roomba Combo J5+ Robot Vacuum & Mop $1297 @ JB Hi-Fi
iRobot Roomba Combo J5+ Robot Vacuum & Mop. Image Credit: JB Hi-Fi
Xiaomi X10 Robot Vacuum and Mop Cleaner with Auto-Empty Dock $679 @ Kogan Online
Xiaomi X10 Robot Vacuum and Mop Cleaner with Auto-Empty Dock. Image Credit: Kogan
Dyson 360 Vis Nav Robot Vacuum $1548 @ The Good Guys
Dyson 360 Vis Nav Robot Vacuum. Image Credit: The Good Guys
Magivaac Laser Robot Vacuum and Mop With Auto Disposable Station RV4500 $500 @ Harris Scarfe
Magivaac Laser Robot Vacuum and Mop With Auto Disposable Station RV4500. Image Credit: Harris Scarfe
About the author: Having spent three years living in Australia in his youth, Alan returned to Australia in 1969 with his wife and young child. Holding a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Doctor of Science Education degree, Alan has experience in flight simulations, Einsteinian physics, and inventing an ‘eye blink’ device that allows cerebral palsy patients to communicate. He even took a turn at acting, starring in a TV advert and landing supporting and lead roles in his local dramatic society plays. His short stories have been published in WA’s The Gingin Buzz for ten years, and his novel The Magic Hourglass is a work in progress. He and his wife have a lovely life in Brisbane and regularly visit their two children in Sydney’s West. You can read Alan’s full-length bio here.
From the Editor:
This is definitely on my wish list! Especially as someone with a very fluffy dog!
We were only able to create this content because of the financial support of SDC Rewards members. If you'd like to see more of this (and a lot fewer ads!), please consider supporting us and signing up for SDC Rewards today—it starts at just $5.99 per month.
