How does the Irobot Roomba Work?

First I am not by a long shot an expert in robotic engineering so here is my layman’s version.

The video below gives you an idea of how well the Irobot Roomba covers the floor, the Picture at the top is the latest Roomba, the ne bottom right is an older model and the bottom left is a manual hoover. After seeing this video I know my preference.

There are 3 sections to the Irobot Roomba, the Drive system, the Hoover section and the Brains or sensor system. All three of these combined allow for the robot to go around your floor on its own and do the vacuuming.

As part of this post I will try to explain the above three components.

THE Drive system.

I was impressed with the drive system on the Irobot roomba, it comprises of a 3 wheel chassis. Two main wheels to drive and a third directional wheel at the front. All the three wheels are rubberised and generate good traction. The wheels are on a movable chassis, which allows for them to compensate for change in floor heights for various obstacles. This makes the unit very versatile for going over door jams and small height differences in the floor. The drive motors push the irobot roomba at a good speed similar to that of someone vacuuming.

With the unit being driven by 2 wheels it allows the unit to turn on the spot. This allows the unit to both get into and out of small spaces without to many issues. Due to the small light nature of the irobot roomba, the motors don’t have to be that big allowing for a relatively quiet operation.

The Hoover system.

A slightly different vacuum system to normal vacuums.
The first element is a rubberised paddle that collects the heavy material on the surface. Stones, and surface dirt is scrapped up and into the collection bin.
The second element is a deep brush that brushes deep into the fiber of your carpet collecting dust and hairs and ground in dirt.
The third element is a rotating brush, this brush pushes any dirt at the edge of the wall or around/under chair legs and other furniture. This is an extra benefit as it does something most traditional cleaners don’t which is really clean the edges of the home.
All of this debris is deposited into a collection bin at the back of the unit, either through a filter system to remove dust or in the pet models a straight bin.
One final word on the vacuum system is the cleaning of the unit. Due to the size of the unit the vacuum holds about 3 vacuums before it needs emptying. I will do a later post on the simplicity of cleaning the vacuum compared to other upright units.

The “Brains” of the irobot roomba.

The design team could have gone with two methods of brains, one that efficiently remembers the room and then cleans it with one pass. This provides the issue that when you move the sofa to the ottoman it gets confused. The irobot team went with a more simple system. The irobot roomba finds the edges of the room and crosses at angles. It also does a circular clean if it detects dirt. This thought process is based on the various sensors it has.

This thing is loaded with sensors from, distance sensors it will slow down when it gets near the wall, allowing for fast speed over the open carpet. Bump sensors for the edge allowing the unit to get up close to the edge of the wall. Dirt sensors I imagine these are based on colour difference. Height sensors, in my house with many edges I do like this feature that it can detect the top of the stairs. Vacuum along it before turning and cleaning the rest of the room. It also has a homing beacon that allows it to detect the home base for charging but also Irobot Roomba barrier towers or room divides.

Robotic vacuum cleaners

This site is primarily based on the Irobot roomba robot, mainly due to it being the product I own and believe in. As part of this blog I was interested to see what other robotic vacuum cleaners were available on the market.

Having carried out much research on the irobot roomba I’ve yet to find any significant bad reviews about the product. That with the fact that it was recommended by someone I trust really sold the product to me.

What are your alternatives if your interested in buying a robotic vacuum cleaner? 

Dyson, is one of the major players in vacuum cleaners so I expected them to have an offering. In 2006 the launched a product called the DC06. However for some reason it is no longer on their range of products for sale. Looking at the module it seems awfully big and cumbersome compared to the irobot roomba.

Electolux is the biggest electrical manufacturers in the world, producing a range of products from Freezers to vacuums.  I expected with their size to have a competitor to the Irobot Roomba. It seems a similar story to Dyson, in 2001 they launched a product called the Trilobite Robotic Vacuum Cleaner. However after searching their site and the net it seems the product no longer exists. Interestedly the trilobite looked very similar to the Irobot roomba.

After checking out the big boys I decided to look else where and cam across the infinuvo. Not the easiest of names to pronounce. The only major competition I could find.  It looks almost the same as the irobot roomba, but doesn’t seem to have the same style of simplicity. Their cleanmate QQ-2 comes in a neon green colour, with what looks like a very complex control panel on the top.
The main selling point of this unit compared to the Irobot roomba is that it has an ultraviolet light which kills bacteria. Having trained in Microbiology I won’t start to explain how bad things can get when we kill good bacteria in the home.
Having read through the reviews on amazon, this robotic vacuum cleaner gets a good mix of positive reviews. Reviews from owners of both models suggest it isn’t as good as a Irobot roomba but it is okay.
I think it isn’t as versatile as the Irobot Roomba but is a good unit on its own.

Overall I was disappointed that there wasn’t more choice on the market. It would seem for now that Irobot is the best in the market. With smaller companies chasing them. I think the larger companies lack the robotic backing that Irobot has and as such cant compete at this time.

If you have a robotic vacuum cleaner that is different to the irobot roomba please let me know what you think.

Irobot roomba the pet series

I thought I would review the my own Irobot Roomba.

We own the Irobot roomba 560 pet  version. I ordered the pert version because we have to cats that love to shed their fur on the main carpet. The main reason for getting the irobot in the first place. However with the amount of hair I knew would be picked up I went for the pet series.

With the pet series you get an extra large bin, this is twice the size of your regular bin. I didn’t think we would need it but unless you want to be emptying your irobot daily I would definitely recommend it. After 3 major hoovers of the house, our bin tends to be full.

The unit also comes with extra brushes and beaters, I find this extremely useful as it allows me to just switch out the brushes when they get extra hairy. Then once a week I have my cleaning time when I clean both sets of brushes and Irobot roomba.

Who should get this Unit. If you have Hairy pets I definitely recommend this unit over the others. I also recommend this unit if your home is high traffic and needs regular cleaning. I’m thinking it would come in very useful for families with big families. Or small families but with lots of friends. I also think this unit would be useful for carpets that deal with lots of debris.

I was also very happy to find that the Pet series model also comes with all the other features of the top end Irobot Roomba.

If your concerned how your pets will handle the Irobot, Both Vinnie and Bobby our to cats just stay out of its way and pretty much ignore it. But Irobot provide the following information for when you introduce your Irobot.

Each pet responds differently. Most are initially curious but will quickly learn to ignore it. Although some pets play with Roomba! Special safety features, including gentle-bump sensors, anti-tangle technology and automatic shut-off, keep your pet safe and ensure that noses and paws will not be harmed if a curious pet interacts with Roomba. We recommend that you run Roomba for the first few cleaning cycles while you are at home with your pet(s) so they can get used to it. After that, you can run Roomba whether you’re at home or on the go!

Overall I am extremely happy with the way our R2D2 (Irobot Roomba Pet series) deals with our cleaning needs.

If your interested in Buying a Pet series model I have arranged a special deal with Irobot where you get free shipping.

How to set up the Irobot Docking Station

Setting up the docking station is very easy, just plug it and your good to go.

well yes you can do that but ideally you don’t want a big round hoover sat out in the middle of your room for everyone to see.

Ideally your robot should be hidden away and only come out when no one is around. This is similar to how the sci fi movies portray it. In reality were going to hide it under a sofa.

IF you have a sofa with enough clearance I would recommend to hide your docking station under that. A sofa is big enough that it gives the irobot roomba plenty of clearance for access. If not under a sofa.

Try placing it in a corner again preferably where no one can see it. Corners are good as they allow a solid backing for the docking station. And are often close to wall sockets.

The last option may require a bit of moving of furniture. If you have a large wall cabinet or piece of furniture you may be able to put the roomba underneath. the other option is to put it next to a big bit of furniture so that when your sat in the room, or when you enter the room the irobot roomba is hidden from site. This isn’t ideal but works well. with a bit of creative placement this technique can work well.

For all teh techniques above ensure you can reach and have access to the irobot roomba, this is important as you will have to remove it to clean it or to put it in another part of the house for hoovering. Also remember that the docking station should be against a wall to prevent the roomba from pushing it.

The cabling of the power pack should be tied with a tie wrap to ensure it doesn’t get caught by the roomba. A little trick for the power box is to put velcro on it and then attach the rest to the wall or skirting. this also helps keep the wiring out of teh way.