Robot Vacuums Cleaners

All about Robot Vacuum cleaners

Robot vacuum cleaners, sometimes referred to as robotic vacuum cleaners are the stuff dreams are made of...a vacuum cleaner that does the cleaning of floors all by themselves!.

The idea is that they work on floor surfaces ranging from full long-pile, to mid-pile carpet to hard floors. Domestic robotic vacuum cleaners are all battery operated, and battery life is generally claimed to be around 1-2 hours depending on the manufacturer, before the vacuum returns to base for a recharge which can take 3-12 hours depending on the brand and the on-board battery type. Some of the really smart robot vacuums can navigate their own way back to the recharger.

One of the beauties of a robot vacuum cleaner is they can access hard to reach places simply - now under-bed areas can be cleaned on a regular basis! The other, of course is they do the work by thenselves.

Sizes of robot vacuums

Sizes of robot vacuums varies, but most fall into the 13-15" diameter and are 3-5" high and weigh in at about 7lbs. Given the sizes of these units, their ideal operating space is one room. A large area or a very dustry/dirty floor could see the dust bucket filled up, requiring the robot vac to be emptied mid-room cycle.

How robot vacuums manoeuvre

Most robot vacuums operate with sensors that help bump guide them around a room. Most are not sophisticated enough to sense a wall or table leg before it hits it, but the bump tells the unit to try to follow what they have hit (i.e a wall). If it cannot (it is not a wall) it will head off in a different direction. These are what are called a random spiral navigation technique.

Some, like the Electrolux models have ultrasonic and infrared sensors that prevent the bumping (especially useful if your home has valuable furniture or objects that may topple over) and also have the capacity to map the room. The stopping distance from objects using these sensors is 1". The Irobot Roomba uses bumping and random spiralling to achieve its floor coverage, but this can lead to some areas being covered several times, while other areas remain uncleaned. 

If the robotic vacuum drives into a corner, it will be smart enough to know to back up and head off on a different direction. Some brands, like Irobot Roomba, even come with an invisible door so that doors can be left open without the cleaner escaping into another room.

Brands of robot vacuums

There are many brands of Robot vacuum clears available on the market. This is not an exhaustive list

IRotot Roomba Wild Electronics  RV-9
ELECTROLUX Trilobite KARCHER RobocleanerRC3000
Stiftung Warentest Genius Robotic cleaner
Eureka's Robo Vac, Dyson

Robotic vacuums prices

For a low end robotic vacuum cleaner such as the Roomba, you can expect to pay anything upwards from US$150. High end units cost nearer US$1500.

Factors to consider when buying a robotic vacuum

Shopping Warehouse offers a great range of robotic vacuum cleaners.

Buy a Roomba Robotic Vacuum Cleaner

P3 Robotic VacuumP3 Robotic Vacuum


Roomba vacuum Roomba iRobot Roomba White Vacuum - Remanufactured Refurbished

iRobot Roomba Burgundy Vacuum - Remanufactured


See more colors here

Refurbished iRobot Roomba 560 Vacuum Cleaner - Refurbished This is a re-furbished version of this great machine. No quality has been sacrificed, however, as this robot comes fully backed by a 90 day limited warranty from iRobot.

The iRobot Roomba 560 Vacuum Cleaning Robot features on-board scheduling that allows you to preset up to seven cleaning times per week for Roomba to clean when it's most convenient for you. Roomba systematically cleans four rooms on a single charge, gets into hard-to-reach areas like wall edges and beneath furniture, avoids stairs and automatically adjusts from carpets to hard floors and back again. Each Virtual WallR LighthouseT (2 included) confines Roomba to one room until the entire floor is vacuumed before Roomba moves on to the next room. When its battery is running low, or when the cleaning is complete, Roomba automatically returns to its self-charging Home BaseT to dock and recharge.

It may be circular, but the RoombaR still cleans edges and corners using its spinning side brush, which rotates outside the unit's housing diameter to gather debris from tough-to-reach spots. Just turn it on and walk away!

Standard Features
Advanced Features:
What's in the box:

Robot Vacuum News

17 Mar 2010 - toshiba's wheelie could be your robotic butler - Technabob (blog)


Technabob (blog)

toshiba's wheelie could be your robotic butler
Technabob (blog)
Think about all of the robot vacuum cleaners that are cleaning people's houses. With one of these, you could have a robot deliver your TV dinner directly to ...

and more »

17 Mar 2010 - Weekly high-tech product releases: futuristic robotic vacuum, universal 3D glasses - Independent


Weekly high-tech product releases: futuristic robotic vacuum, universal 3D glasses
Independent
Samsung's newly announced NaviBot is a futuristic-looking robot vacuum that will roll its way around the house sucking up dust while you are out. ...

16 Mar 2010 - Robotic vacuum cleaner with wireless IP camera - Gizmag


Gizmag

Robotic vacuum cleaner with wireless IP camera
Gizmag
Some things are just made for each other…bread and butter, coffee and cream, maple syrup and waffles, robot vacuum cleaner and wireless ...
Posts tagged with g182-robot-vacuumUberGizmo (blog)
Chinavasion G182 robot vacuum cleanerCoolest Gadgets
G182: Robotic vacuum cleaner with virtual infrared wallThe Design Blog (blog)

all 6 news articles »

15 Mar 2010 - Intelligent Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Wireless IP Camera Lets you Spy Subtly - Chip Chick


Chip Chick

Intelligent Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Wireless IP Camera Lets you Spy Subtly
Chip Chick
The Intelligent Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Wireless IP Camera also cleans your house and you can control it to clean your home anywhere, anytime – remotely. ...

15 Mar 2010 - Gadget of the Week: Samsung Navibot - Times Online


Times Online

Gadget of the Week: Samsung Navibot
Times Online
Snatching the title of β€œmost intelligent robot vacuum cleaner in the world” is no great feat: previous incumbents have been about as clever as rocks with ...

3 Mar 2010 - Samsung's new robot vacuum cleaner - The Press Association


Samsung's new robot vacuum cleaner
The Press Association
Samsung said: "Compact, sleek and agile, the new Navibot robot vacuum cleaner looks set to revolutionise domestic cleaning. ...

26 Feb 2010 - Robot will clean up indoors - The Sun


The Sun

Robot will clean up indoors
The Sun
The NAVIBOT from SAMSUNG is a robot vacuum cleaner and while there's been a few of those already, this has some cool new features. ...

25 Feb 2010 - In pictures: Samsung NaviBot robot vacuum - TechRadar UK


In pictures: Samsung NaviBot robot vacuum
TechRadar UK
Shown off at Samsung's European conference in Vienna, with TechRadar in attendance, the NaviBot is Samsung's first introduction of robot vacuum cleaners in ...

and more »

24 Feb 2010 - Samsung Robot Vacuum Cleaner To Invade Europe - TrustedReviews


TrustedReviews

Samsung Robot Vacuum Cleaner To Invade Europe
TrustedReviews
Ever thought the Roomba just wasn't intelligent enough? If so, the new NavibotTM from Samsung could be just the home cleaning droid you're looking for. ...

23 Feb 2010 - Samsung Navibot vacuum finally making its outing in spring - CNET Asia


CNET Asia

Samsung Navibot vacuum finally making its outing in spring
CNET Asia
The robot vacuum has five power modes: Auto, Max, Manual, Spot and Edge Clean. You can also set a timer if you'd rather the Navibot did its job after you ...

and more »