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

11 Mar 2010 - Samsung Navibot vacuum cleaners - Slippery Brick


Samsung Navibot vacuum cleaners
Slippery Brick
When you think robot vacuum cleaners, you tend to think Roomba, but they aren't the only game in town. Samsung wants in on some of that floor cleaning dough ...

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9 Mar 2010 - March 8 in Copenhagen: women's struggle is a class struggle - In Defense of Marxism


March 8 in Copenhagen: women's struggle is a class struggle
In Defense of Marxism
Robot vacuum cleaners, dishwashing machines, public laundries, renovated houses, public window cleaning, public cleaning, public restaurants with good, ...

8 Mar 2010 - More digital goodies from Samsung - Malaysia Star


Malaysia Star

More digital goodies from Samsung
Malaysia Star
Other equally interesting products include the NaviBotTM robot vacuum cleaner, e-Book reader and the palm-sized portable H03 LED Pico projector, ...

3 Mar 2010 - Open sesame - Computer Business Review


Open sesame
Computer Business Review
One customer, iRobot which makes robot vacuum cleaners, launched a community and found that people talked about their vacuum cleaners as if they were pets. ...

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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


AkihabaraNews (blog)

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. ...
In pictures: Samsung NaviBot robot vacuumTechRadar UK

all 3 news articles »

25 Feb 2010 - Graphics of the Americas Takes On New Dimensions - What They Think


Graphics of the Americas Takes On New Dimensions
What They Think
A robot vacuum cleaner? Okay, then. These two stories were used to illustrate the relationship between people and objects, and the emotional connections we ...

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 ...

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22 Feb 2010 - Samsung Navibot robot vacuum cleaner coming to the UK - Stuff.tv


Stuff.tv

Samsung Navibot robot vacuum cleaner coming to the UK
Stuff.tv
While we may not be quite at a place where we can get a robot to clean our dishes and do our laundry, Samsung has just shown off a new robot vacuum that ...

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