I tell you how to choose a sweeping robot from personal feelings, problems encountered, selection criteria and key performance.
I.Personal feelings
Let me first express my personal feelings as the basis for the follow-up content:
1.Sweeping Robot performance is different, but there is no best product, only suitable product.
2.Expensive sweeping robots do not mean that they are suitable products. Products should be selected according to their own circumstances (economy, habit, demand).
3.High performance will cause the price of the product to rise, and most customers need to buy a mainstream sweeping robot at an appropriate price.
II．The problems that will be faced when using the sweeping robot
In 2016, I purchased the Ecovacs DT85 sweeping robot, and it has been used for more than 3 years. Although it has played a role in the cleanliness of the room, I found that the old sweeping robot has some shortcomings during use.
1.small cleaning area
The infrared sensor device used by the sweeping robot cannot effectively identify the items in the room, which causes it to be unable to effectively distinguish whether the items should be removed.
2.Weak ability of the robot to avoid obstacles
3.Short battery life of the robot
Considering the cost of making batteries and the size of the internal space of the robot, it is common for sweeping robots to use nickel batteries, but because of the low capacity of nickel batteries, charging takes a long time and has a short life span, so the life span of the robot is short.
4.Low cleaning strength of the robot
The robot is equipped with small-diameter spiral brushes, and because of the low electrical power of the brushes, the robot does not have enough suction power when working. The robot is poor at handling fine dust and is weak at sweeping large particles of waste.
III.Criteria and requirements for choosing a robot
Once you know the problems with older generation floor cleaning robots, when making your robot purchase you should think about the robot’s ability to clean efficiently and clean intelligently in a comprehensive manner.
1.Sweeping performance
Manufacturers are improving the cleaning performance of their robots by improving the cleaning structure, dust collection box and cleaning mode.
(1) Cleaning structure
The cleaning structure of the robot is divided into suction port type and brush type.
The suction port type generally consists of a “side brush + dust port”, similar to a vacuum cleaner. When the robot is working, the suction port assembly is placed close to the floor. The dust is sucked directly into the robot’s belly before it can be lifted. This type of sweeper is mainly aimed at homes with a lot of hair, and this type of sweeper does not cause secondary cleaning.
Brush-type robots generally consist of three parts: side brushes, roller brushes and a dust suction port. When the robot is sweeping, the roller brush penetrates deep into the crevices of the floor and then draws the dust into the dust collection box. This type of robot is suitable for homes with a high level of dust particles.
(2) Dust container
The dust container is the only one that needs to be cleaned manually by the user. An integrated box with a large capacity, transparent and primary filter offers convenience to the user.
(3) Sweeping modes
The sweeper has 4 standard modes: automatic sweeping, spot sweeping, edge sweeping and appointment sweeping. The user can select different cleaning modes depending on what needs to be cleaned in the environment. Therefore, a robot with all 4 cleaning modes is a good product.
2.Mopping performance
Many manufacturers currently focus on developing robots that combine sweeping and mopping functions, and each manufacturer has exclusive technology here. However, the mopping performance of sweeping robots still has some defects, including unstable mopping effect, immature development of mopping technology, and the inability to repeatedly remove friction.
3.Automation and intelligence
A mainstream sweeping robot needs to be able to perform path planning, intelligent obstacle avoidance and voice communication.
(1) Path planning
Path planning is the ability of a robot to quickly and accurately create a map when it first enters a room, and then plan its path according to the placement of items on the map. The more mainstream mature path planning technologies are visual navigation and laser navigation.
(2) Intelligent obstacle avoidance
The ability of intelligent obstacle avoidance means the number of times the user has to intervene manually, which also has a direct impact on the experience of using the robot. At present, sweeping robots mainly use infrared sensor detection technology, ultrasonic bionic detection technology, visual recognition technology and semi-encapsulated anti-collision buffer plate technology to achieve the avoidance of obstacles.
(3) Other automated intelligent functions
Anti-drop, layered cleaning, virtual wall, automatic recharge, intermittent sweeping, APP remote control these features are also in demand by customers.
4.Using experience
(1) Battery performance
Battery performance is directly related to the continuous working time of the sweeping robot and the use of the battery time, which is expressed in terms of material and capacity. Current robotic products with good performance use lithium batteries. The battery capacity is around 5000 mA or more. In standard mode, the robot’s continuous cleaning time is no less than 150 minutes.
(2) Cleaning area
Battery capacity, battery life, motor power and cleaning efficiency together determine the cleaning area of the robot. Current mainstream robots require 150 square meters of house to be cleaned at a time.
(3) Noise
A minimum noise level of 55 dB and 45 dB is usually appropriate in residential areas during the day and night respectively, as living in a noisy environment for a long time can have an impact on physical and mental health. Therefore the decibel value of the sweeping robot is controlled at 55 decibels is very good.
(4) Charging time
The charging time of the robot is an important indicator as it involves re-use.
(5) Obstacle-crossing capability
As the surface of the house is not smooth, this causes some problems for the robot. Current mainstream robots are equipped with large rollers and have a certain ability to cross obstacles. In the absence of installation of mopping accessories machine per capita can achieve over 2 cm height of the obstacles, basically meet the use of demand.
I suggest:
i. the host battery as far as possible for lithium batteries, capacity in 5000 mA or more;
ii. standard gear cleaning time of not less than 150 minutes;
iii. 200 square meters of housing cleaning;
iv. charging time to be less than or equal to 4 hours; work robot issued by the noise intensity to be less than or equal to 55 decibels;
v. able to cross the height of 2 cm obstacles.
5.Cost-effectiveness ratio
The cost effectiveness ratio is mainly divided into the price of the product and the price of consumables.
You should choose the product with the lowest price when the performance basically meets the usage requirements.