Family Safety
Cleaning the house can be a tedious job, especially when you can’t keep everything spotless. Cleaning only when there are visitors is not a good habit as dirt might take up the house for days. Yet, when we speak of smart tech devices, we also tend to question their effectiveness, questions like how does robot vacuum know where to clean. When everyone’s too busy to pull off a thorough home-cleaning task, we wish for machines to assist us with our responsibilities at home, such as a robot vacuum cleaner.
Therefore, this article is here to supply you with information that you need to learn about this technology. Having profound knowledge about the tech can help you decide whether this product is for you.
About the Robot Vacuum Cleaner
The Robot Vacuum Cleaner or RoboVac, aside from its knowledge of its purpose, is an independent robotic vacuum cleaner with an inadequate vacuum floor cleaning system. The RoboVac is only capable of cleaning dirt on floors with its flat, round-shaped, or d-shaped design, depending on the brand that it’s from. It can be controlled through manual operation, remote control, and a self-driven mode of operation that allows the vacuum cleaner to clean without requiring human intervention.
Roughly all of its designs come with spinning brushes that are made to grasp tight corners. It often comes with convenient features that involve cleaning other than vacuuming, like mopping, UV sterilization, etc.
Compared to its counterpart, the regular vacuum cleaner, it is quiet and can vacuum on its own. It can be kept within small spaces such as under the bed, cabinets, drawers, etc. Unlike the regular vacuum cleaner that needs bigger spaces than the RoboVac. The only disadvantage of this technology is it takes quite a lot of time vacuum a large area due to its minimum dimensions and that it often comes at a high price.
The History of RoboVac
Before we get to know how does robot vacuum cleaner knows where to clean, it’s also useful to know its origins to get a more profound knowledge about the product you’re about to invest in. Obtaining knowledge about its beginnings will help you understand the purpose and disadvantages of this device.
This technology was first introduced in 1993 by a company named Electrolux. They had created a robotic vacuum cleaner, which they called the: “Electrolux Trilobite.” Despite working well, it still encountered frequent problems, such as bumping on objects, stopping on walls and other obstacles, and leaving small spaces untouched. This resulted in a market failure and discontinued production. However, in 1997, Electrolux’s earliest version of the tech was recognized by BBC’s science program that is named Tomorrow’s World.
In 2001, the inventor Dyson created a similar technology that was known to be the DC06. It was expensive, which caused the product never to be released to the market.
Within 1990, three roboticists, namely; Colin Angle, Helen Greiner, and Rodney Brooks, started the “iRobot,” a business that was initially devoted to the production of robots for military purposes and domestic use. In 2002, they launched the “Roomba” that served the same purpose as the Electrolux Trilobite. The difference was that it could direct itself away from obstacles, perceive the dirty portion on the floor, and identify vertical drops that keep it from falling from high places like stairs. With these features, it proved to be the foremost efficient robot vacuum in the market. In the year 2005, the company iRobot released “Scooba” that could scrub hard floors.
Around 2010, the manufacturer Neato Robotics introduced laser-based mapping from their robot vacuum XV-11, allowing the robot to navigate on straight lines rather than moving on random locations. At about 2015, both Dyson and iRobot presented the camera-based mapping for the robot. In 2016, the iRobot’s CEO appealed that 20% of the vacuum cleaners sold around the world comprised mostly of robots.
How the RoboVac Works
The robotic vacuum cleaner serves similar functions with the regular vacuum cleaner, yet in a much more convenient way, requiring minimal assistance from an operator. Yet, what does it consist of for it to work? How does robot vacuum cleaner know where to clean? How does it navigate?
Like a regular vacuum cleaner, the RoboVac’s suction is powered by an electric motor that is used to remove dirt and deposit it into a dust cup. However, there is a massive difference between this RoboVac from its regular counterpart. It is autonomous, as mentioned earlier, which means it can function without human input. To work independently, this invention needs to have some intelligence to be able to make simple decisions. To do that, it must collect information to create choices.
Vacuum robots use various intelligent sensors, and modern versions of RoboVac utilize laser or infrared sensors to understand their environment. These sensors cause a light beam to bounce off, and upon returning to them, the bot will gain more knowledge of its environment. Some intelligent vacuum cleaners use ultrasonic waves, mimicking a bat’s senses and uses sound waves instead of light. And this answers what most people find intriguing about how does robot vacuum cleaner know where to clean. Know more about Robot Vacuums.
Conclusion
If you’re searching for a truly convenient way to clean your house, with minimal effort for operating – you should consider buying this device. Now that you’ve found answers to your questions regarding the tech, such as how does a robot vacuum cleaner know where to clean, you have enough information to decide whether you’d purchase a RoboVac of your own. Although you will still need the conventional vacuuming to clean places that the bot can’t reach, it will surely only be a little less often than before. With such a smart device to assist you in cleaning, you’ll surely be done in no time.