Kärcher RC 3000 Robot Vacuum Cleaner: Operational Experience
In my life, I met people who like vacuuming. Yes, exactly, the process of establishing purity is a pleasure. The reason may be different - from the demonstration of their own need to misophobia .
However, among the wide range of motives invented by mankind for daily housekeeping, I could not find my own. Laziness invariably triumphed over both rational arguments about the need to vacuum every day, and over emotional impulses, whose energy was only enough to swear: " Why, again, no one has gone! "
Once I confessed to myself that the matter was not “lack of time” or “fatigue after work”, but banal unwillingness to take this damn vacuum cleaner in hand, I decided that I needed to automate the cleaning process, for example, to buy a cleaning robot .
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Robust and reliable cleaning robot that can function normally in the most difficult conditions:
My choice fell on the RC 3000 from Karcher , the impressions of the operation of which this article is dedicated to.
So, I realized that I needed an assistant in the household who would make the floor in the apartment cleaner, preferably myself, completely without my participation. Friends and acquaintances advised to “marry”, but, firstly, this luxury is clearly beyond my means, and, secondly, this action does not solve the aforesaid problem in any way (I consider it improper to use the spouse as an electric shredder).
The option of a housekeeper or outsourcing in a cleaning company was rejected for both economic and ideological reasons: even the lowest paid “aunt-cleaner”, who takes four thousand rubles a month for her services, will cost me almost fifty thousand rubles a month later, and This is excluding taxes and other social contributions. In addition, the very idea of ​​using domestic workers seems to me humiliating. "The exploitation of man by man," and all that.
Yes, and, in the end, the twenty-first century in the courtyard, it is time to give the household problems at the mercy of robots and other household appliances. With this in mind, I began to analyze the offer of devices for automated cleaning. It turned out that there are three types of them:
It was decided to focus on vacuum cleaning robots, since they require the least amount of time and effort to maintain and operate in the widest range of conditions.
It remains only to choose a specific model that, on the one hand, would be as reliable as possible, and on the other, would provide the most complete automation of the process. I treat these devices as household appliances, without feeling the pleasure of reversing, upgrading and other creative and technical operations for the study of robotic vacuum cleaners, I needed the most complete solution, working on the principle of " bought, turned on, forgot, and there it was somehow works . "
Talking about the choice of a technical solution for the automation of cleaning the room can not be constructive without a description of the conditions in which this solution will be used. In addition, knowledge of the nature of these conditions will allow the reader to more adequately perceive information about the practical experience of using the selected device.
Let's start with an example: the commercial of the Karcher RC 3000 robot vacuum cleaner with the pompous name " Future is now " shows us an already clean room (more like an office than a real apartment), in which the robot heroically conducts a vivid imitation of cleaning several speciallyTrained scattered spears:
Personally, the video caused indignation in me: why does the manufacturer show the robot in such " greenhouse conditions"? Will he cope with the apartment of the usual Zamkad rogue, or is the eurorepair vital?
To answer these questions ( curiosity was the second motive for buying the RC 3000 after laziness), I decided to test the robot in my home environment. This is a three-room rented apartment with a total area of ​​about fifty six square meters:
The paint applied to the doors, batteries and window sills under Soviet power began to fall off in large pieces, whitewash from the ceiling, which has been crumbling from the same time, PVC tile in one of the rooms crumbles, exposing the board floor, on which once held tile. Leaky windows allow air (and therefore dust) from the street.
Under the terms of hiring some furniture and carpets can not be thrown away. Chipboard furniture periodically pleases with sawdust, and old, half-rotten carpets daily eject hundreds of wool from themselves.
The apartment is located in a great area with developed infrastructure and good transport accessibility, next to the forest (where you can perfectly ride a bike) and the bay, while it is very cheap, so I am not going to change it.
Thus, my robot vacuum cleaner has to work in very difficult conditions, and it has little chance of improving them.
Naturally, the robot must have a high structural strength and a good mechanical component in order not to break under such conditions.
The first thing I would like to say is the generic naming of these devices. Usually they are called vacuum cleaning robots, which is wrong, since most of these devices (of the exceptions, perhaps, only Neato XV-11 and Ottoro S-100 can be noted) are not vacuum cleaners.
According to Wikipedia , a vacuum cleaner is a “device for cleaning dust and dirt from surfaces by suction by air flow.” The considered devices, as a rule, do not suck up the garbage, but throw it into the tank due to the movement of the brushes (suction is also used, but this is only an additional function). It would be more correct to call this technique robots-electrics (after all, in fact, they do not vacuum, namely sweep).
This is not about a simple dispute about terminology, because the principle of operation of the device determines, ultimately, the efficiency of cleaning in certain conditions. In particular, vacuum cleaning robots (we will not change the established terminology) are surprisingly effective when cleaning carpets, despite the low (compared to traditional floor vacuum cleaners) suction power.
This is explained by the presence of a rotating brush that “pulls” garbage (sometimes with a nap) from the carpet. This also explains the relatively poor ability of these devices to remove heavy or sticky fine dust. Suction power is not enough to tighten the dust particles, and the brushes throw them not high enough.
Most of the devices available on the market can be divided into two categories: moving relatively randomly and having a plan to bypass the premises. Robots belonging to the first group move around the apartment, changing the trajectory in a collision with obstacles. Some models also change direction in the absence of obstacles, realizing the algorithms laid down by the manufacturer for optimal surface coverage of the room.
Representatives of the second group in one way or another build a "room map". There are several approaches to solving this problem: the use of LIDAR , the use of a video camera that removes the ceiling, the use of an external navigation system located on the wall, etc.
As a rule, a person who does not have practical experience in using robotic cleaners prefers to see “elements of intelligence” in his devices, considering that building a map is the key to high-quality cleaning. Apparently, in this case, a phenomenon similar to empathy works: a person evaluates not the effectiveness of one or another way of moving the robot, but his ideas about how he, a reasonable person, would find it easier to remove the room.
In fact, robots moving [pseudo] randomly, more efficiently (most of the robots from TOP 10 according to Robotsaldetalle.es move “chaotically”). There is a simple explanation for this, which does not require any special knowledge in the field of algorithm analysis and / or robotics to understand.
If moving "chaotically" (some models have advanced motion algorithms, and their movements only seem erratic ), the robot did not remove some part of the floor during the current cycle, it will remove it the next time. Or after two starts. Or even someday. And the chances that this will happen soon enough, the higher the more often you start the robot. The “errors” (expressed in the fact that the area accessible to the robot physically remains uncleared only because the robot simply did not drive in there) do not accumulate.
In the case of devices using the card, the situation is somewhat different: if the robot "believes" that it does not need to enter the table, it will ignore this space every time: the same data are fed to the input of the same behavioral algorithm - hence , the output is the same result. The error is repeated from time to time (until the user updates the firmware of the device, or until the external conditions change - furniture placement, door position, etc.)
The difference between the two approaches can be clearly demonstrated with the following illustration:
Photo from the article " Saubermänner: 24 Saugroboter von 200 bis 1150 Euro im Test "
Analyzing these images, remember that the robot most effectively removes the space that is under its main brush (or trash suction hole for brushless models). The denser the trajectory lines that are adjacent to each other, the higher the quality of cleaning. As you can see, “chaotic” movements provide somewhat greater coverage.
Of course, manufacturers are trying to improve the motion algorithms of their products, adding an element of randomness to the movement of “deterministic” models, on the one hand, and ordering “random” movements of “chaotic” devices, on the other.
As a result, in practice, the described schemes in their pure form are quite rare, but the general trend is the same: building a map looks cool and interesting, but impractical from the point of view of coverage efficiency. Pseudo-random movements allow for more efficient cleaning, but reduce the initial attractiveness of the product in the eyes of an inexperienced buyer.
If we talk specifically about the RC 3000, its coverage map looks like this:
Photo from the article " Saubermänner: 24 Saugroboter von 200 bis 1150 Euro im Test "
At first glance, the result is noticeably inferior to that shown in the previous illustration. But in fact, only one iteration is taken into account, and the RC 3000, unlike most competitors, can make a lot of cleaning trips, gradually covering the entire area of ​​the room. Read more about this below.
The device discussed in this topic is rather exotic for Russian realities, therefore, before proceeding directly with its review, I consider it necessary to say a few words about its competitors, more familiar to the reader, their advantages, disadvantages and the reasons for choosing RC 3000
Perhaps the most popular robot vacuum cleaner in the world. For many people, its name has become a household name, denoting the entire class of such devices. Produced by a large, respected American company iRobot, which has extensive experience in robotics, incl. military. Several articles on Habré were devoted to this model, among which we can mention " Year with Roomba " from optemist habrauser . An overview of the representative of the previous generation of this series, which is still freely available for sale and has not lost its relevance of the robot of the 500th series, is available in the AbyssMoon article entitled " Overview of the iRobot Roomba 505 Robot Vacuum Cleaner "
Actual at the time of writing the model, Roomba 790, has acquired a remote control:
The main advantage of Roomba robots, of course, is their prevalence. Hundreds of communities have been created for their discussions, a lot of hacks and mods have been developed, the Chinese are producing fake cheap parts, and merchants from CIS countries are organizing repair services. Geeks collect on their basis their uber-devices and hack firmware , and ordinary users write thousands of reviews, from which you can find out all the device buyer’s interesting data. If you have a problem with such a robot, you can easily find advice on how to solve it on the Web and a specialist who is ready to eliminate it offline.
This robot has no fatal flaws - the model is quite mature, due to the manufacturer’s extensive experience in the field of robotics. However, there are some features that make uninteresting and unsuitable for solving the problem. First of all, we are talking about the need to clean the robot:
Opinions differ on how often this should be done. Most of the ratings of Russian users (this is important, in the United States or Europe, the interiors differ from ours) range from “after each launch” to “once every three days.” Of course, there are those who have enough cleaning once a month, but we will not take into account the opinion of these pedants: maintaining such cleanliness in an apartment is a task too laborious.
The second feature that I didn’t like about iRobot products is the multi-room treatment system. The fact is that during operation, the robot determines the area of ​​the room by the Monte Carlo method (goes back and forth many times) and, depending on the value obtained, determines the time required to clean the room. If you run it, for example, in the bedroom, it can vacuum it without “realizing” that the corridor leads from the bedroom to the nursery, and from there to the kitchen. The last two rooms will not be processed (more precisely, they may or may not be removed).
To avoid situations in which a part of the premises is ignored by the robot, the manufacturer recommends the use of beacons — special radio devices that allow the vacuum cleaner to determine the boundaries of the premises (and, accordingly, their number) and plan their time properly. Why are lighthouses bad? Because, firstly, they cost money (they need quite a lot, in my case, five of them), and, secondly, they run on batteries. Which you need to remember to charge or buy.
In other words, the tool designed to make life easier for the user makes him, firstly, regularly serve himself (not a very pleasant process, I must say), and, secondly, remember myself, which is, in my opinion, outrageous: so and I can vacuum myself, I just need not forget and not be lazy .
Perhaps the second most popular robot in the States. It is interesting by the unusual shape of the body (according to the manufacturer, it allows the robot to more efficiently handle the corners), navigation system. This robot, unlike the previous one, does not travel in a pseudo-random manner, but builds a room map: first, it passes through the apartment, “looking” into each room to create a map for itself. Then on this map, he paves the route. The system guarantees that, firstly, the robot will not miss a single piece of floor surface, and, secondly, it will not begin to vacuum the same area twice (in the strict sense, of course, such guarantees cannot be given, but about this later. The trend is indeed that). The Web has repeatedly expressed the opinion that the purchase of Neato XV (in this series there are several robots that are almost the same) is the cheapest way to get high-quality LIDAR for the robotics lover.
In addition, the model XV-11 is distinguished by the complete absence of brushes : there is neither a main brush, nor side “helicopters”, as well as an increased (compared to analogues) suction power.
Instead of a brush , this thing is used:
Photo from the article Neato XV-11 (XV-12 / XV-15) review
As the wersoo habraiser has rightly pointed out in the comments, there is a brush in the Neato XV-21.
The main disadvantage of this robot is that almost all of the declared characteristics are not confirmed in everyday operation: the “super-powered” turbine actually copes with debris worse than a brush, and the navigation system due to accumulated inaccuracies leads to the formation of areas that the device does not vacuum. And he makes a lot of noise.
upd : Lipskiy in the comments expressed a different point of view , according to which, the RC 3000 is significantly inferior to the robots from Neato .
One of the few robots with a full base in which it can unload garbage as it fills a tank located inside a moving unit. In this regard, it is close to the RC 3000, but, unlike the latter, it has a more advanced motion algorithm: this robot builds a room map using a video camera aimed at ... the ceiling.
Very elegant, in my opinion, solution - on the one hand, the problem with the view is eliminated (there are usually fewer obstacles above the robot than next to it), on the other hand the map is quite accurate (the ceiling plan almost always coincides with the floor plan).
If such a robot comes under a bed, it “realizes” this fact and will not perceive the space under the obstacle as a separate room. Well, in order to drive around objects located on the floor, the robot has special algorithms for “bypassing obstacles”. How the system will work in a domed room, I do not know :)
It would seem the perfect solution, but, like everything else in this world, this device has its drawbacks. In the case of Nabvibot-S, the main problem is the weakness of the mechanical and, in fact, “vacuum” component. Numerous reports that the robot can not move the forgotten sock, gets tangled in the wires, cannot collect large pieces of dirt, etc., as well as insider information from a representative of a large hardware store that describes the imperfection of the undercarriage of this device, caused the formation opinions about the impracticality of this robot.
Like Navibot-S, this robot has a complete base capable of removing accumulated debris from the main tank of the robot. Moreover, unlike competitors, Ecovacs offers a modular solution: the base of the robot is transformed into a separate full-fledged wearable mini vacuum cleaner for cleaning furniture (unfortunately, none of the robot vacuum cleaners on the market can wipe the cabinet or clean the chair). Initially, I considered Deepoo D-76 as the main candidate for the purchase - " the same Karcher, only cheaper ."
However, on closer examination, it turned out that this option is not as good as I imagined. First, despite the fact that the base is able to take in excess garbage, the robot itself, after unloading the contents of the container, does not continue cleaning until the next automatic launch (no more than twice a day). Those. if in the first room the container is filled, the rest will simply not be removed.Secondly, the battery capacity is enough for 40 minutes of real work, and the robot also does not know how to recharge and continue working. Thirdly, the base is equipped with a cyclone-type filter, which needs to be cleaned regularly (which is quite laborious), otherwise the suction power drops dramatically, and most of the garbage remains in the robot's container.
One of my colleagues bought this model and gave the opportunity to test. It turned out that in my conditions the base would have to be washed after each launch. In addition, the body of the robot is made of a completely unsuitable for such devices glossy plastic, on which the smallest scratches are clearly visible and which, moreover, is very poorly cleaned. By the way about cleaning: the robot has a huge number of sinuses, "corners", "zagogulin" and other extremely difficult to clean places. Wash it after testing was a real punishment. Another argument against this is the terrible, in my opinion, implementation of the mechanism of rotation of the main brush with guides from ... felt.
In practice, after a few starts, the felt “bearings” are either ground off, or crushed, or cut by wound threads. And all this flight of engineering is completed by the open belt drive of the main brush drive, which constantly collects hair, wire, etc. In general, the " cheap Karcher " will not be able to buy.
But, if you buy it, he will be able to soften your grief from wasted money by singing a song or dancing a dance :
The vacuum cleaner was purchased at KĂ„RCHER Shop & Service Schreiber in Germany. At the time of purchase it was the easiest and cheapest way to purchase this device: in Russia it cost about 50,000 rubles, it cost me about 32,000 rubles, including delivery. Now it makes no sense to order from abroad: the official representative of the manufacturer sells the RC 3000 for 30,000 rubles .
The delivery was carried out by the Post of Russia, the parcel, contrary to the prejudices widespread on the Web against this organization, reached without any problems in 15 days:
Most of the box is occupied by the base station, designed to recharge the robot and clean the onboard garbage collector:
The robot itself is packed inside a separate small box:
Freshly unpacked RC 3000, bottom view:
In addition to the base and the robot, warranty documents, instructions, several additional bags were included in the package and a lottery ticket from the store.
At the time of writing, the RC 3000 has been working for me for more than a year. During this time, he never broke down and did not demand serious maintenance. Some of its features disappointed me, others, on the contrary, liked me. Consider the most important, in my opinion, the characteristics of this device.
Let's start with the properties of the RC 3000, which are traditionally considered its strengths.
One of the key benefits of the Karcher solution is the compact size of the robot. Its diameter is 285 mm, and the height (including the “horns”) is 105 mm. For comparison, "the default robot cleaner", iRobot Roomba has the following overall characteristics: diameter 353 mm, height - 91 mm.
A visual representation of the ratio of the sizes of popular modern models of robotic vacuum cleaners can be given by the following illustration:
Reducing the design is achieved by shifting the emphasis during cleaning: the robot does not need to have time to clean the entire room on one charge (i.e., you don’t need to carry large heavy batteries), you don’t need to keep all the garbage in you (therefore, you can greatly reduce the onboard garbage bin ). This in itself makes it possible to reduce the size of the device, and reducing the size also reduces the weight, which makes it possible to install smaller, relatively weak engines.
In practice, the smaller size of the robot means that it is easier for it to penetrate into hard-to-reach areas of the room — behind (or under) the furniture, between the legs of the chairs, into various niches, etc. In my case, no other robot would simply squeeze into the kitchen.
In the upper part of the case, the RC 3000 has flexible rubber “horns” (or “ears”, as they are sometimes called), which allow it to move out from under low pieces of furniture: the robot, hooked with “horns,” begins to crawl in the opposite direction, the horns bend slightly , and allow him to leave, avoiding sticking:
Unlike most competitors, for whom running out of battery power or filling a dumpster is equivalent to completing a cleaning cycle, the RC 3000 can recharge and empty the container: it goes to the base, unloads the garbage and charges the battery. After that - continues cleaning.
Here it is necessary to clarify: he does not go to the very place where he graduated (he doesn’t know anything about the topography of the room at all), but he continues to do the cleaning while many other robots do not do it.
This approach allows you to maintain large and / or very dirty rooms. Yes, the total cleaning time increases, but what's the difference if it happens automatically and does not require your participation?
I am not a specialist in plastics assessment, so I will describe my subjective feelings, according to which, the quality of assembly and materials of the RC 3000 is very high. Plastic matte, strong, scratch-resistant. Without smell. Fingerprints are not visible on it (unlike, for example, Deepoo D76). The case gives the impression of a solid monolithic structure, there is no backlash, there is no creaking, the fitting of the parts is very accurate.
Rubber wheels are soft enough to ensure good adhesion to any surface. At the same time, rubber is very durable and practically does not wear off during operation.
The mechanism for fixing the lid of the garbage container is very conveniently arranged - two snap-on clamps provide ease of removal and, at the same time, reliable fixation of this element:
Photo from the article " Tip of The Month: Karcher RC3000 Maintanance "
Compare with plastic bolts Deepoo D76 (imagine what they will turn into after a few dozen cleanings.):
Unfortunately, I could not find the noise level of the robot itself on the Network. But it is noticeably lower, at least compared to the iClebo, Ecovacs Deepoo D76 and the Chinese NoName-robots. Offhand, it is a half to two times quieter.
The chassis of the robot is made at a very high level. The bottom of the robot is movably connected to the upper part of the body. Such a connection allows you to absorb shocks when a robot collides with obstacles: most of the energy is assumed by a casing made of durable plastic, and much less comes to electronics / mechanics.
The device has an independent suspension that allows you to effectively overcome relatively high obstacles:
Bearings and gears, ensuring the movement of the brush, are installed in closed housings, which prevents hair and dust from entering the brush unit.
Unlike, for example, Rumba:
Hair in gears iRobot Roomba
Of course, the main advantage of this model (compared, for example, with Roomba) is the presence of a full base. By “usefulness”, I mean her ability to perform both of the main tasks of servicing a robot — recharging batteries and cleaning brushes / garbage bin:
For the sake of justice, I note that in practice, the second task is solved worse than the first, but more on this in the section with disadvantages.
In my (obviously biased and subjective) opinion, the presence of a cleaning base is an essential feature of a robot vacuum cleaner that is suitable for realoperation. Otherwise, the solution is “half-hearted”: we automate the daily cleaning, but instead generate the need for daily (in the case of a really polluted environment) manual cleaning of the robot.
I do not know how to explain this from the point of view of psychology, but I had a great desire to get rid of the “ daily ”, from this unpleasant oppressive feeling that I should get out (or clean the robot) precisely today, and tomorrow I will have to do the same. Yes, let him serve himself, this is a robot!
Of particular note are some specific features of the RC 3000 base implementation, first of all, the garbage collection mechanism. Unlike competing models, the RC 3000 does not have a separate opening for garbage collection. Instead, the base sucks the contents of the container through the same hole through which the garbage enters it.
On the one hand, this is bad, because free movement of air flow prevents the robot brush. On the other hand, this is very good, since during unloading the cleaning of the brush itself also takes place (some of the adhered debris is blown off from it into the base). To increase the efficiency of the process, the brush rotates in the opposite direction, pushing the contents of the container into the base.
The robot determines the moment when it is necessary to go to the base (there are two criteria: either the batteries run out, or the trash can is full), it finds it and parks it:
Like everything else in this world, the robot cleaner Karcher RC 3000 is not without some drawbacks. In this block, we will consider those features that are unambiguously assessed as negative. Technical decisions that cause mixed judgments and conflicting feelings are in a separate section.
Sometimes the robot can not park the first time. Sometimes - and from the second too. Rarely, he doesn’t have time to call at the base before the battery is fully used up:
In fairness, two facts should be noted:
Of course, developers could provide the robot with some kind of track-back system, but this would lead, firstly, to a departure from the KISS principle, and, secondly, to a significant increase in the cost of the device.
All modern robotic vacuum cleaners have a so-called. “Enhanced cleaning mode” (“stain removal mode”, “spot mode”). Despite the difference in the names used by different manufacturers, its essence remains unchanged: the robot is equipped with pollution sensors (in the case of the RC 3000 it is an optocoupler that detects dirt particles in the incoming air flow, but there are other constructions) that determine what is dirty here.
Realizing that this area is very littered, the robot begins to intensively clean it. The classic is the spiral algorithm of spot cleaning, when the robot takes its current position as the center of the spiral, and begins to "unwind" it. Sometimes spiral movements are complemented by maneuvers to bypass obstacles:
A picture from Rakuten.co.jp, referring to an unknown device to me, branded under Hello Kitty.
For some reason, the explanations that I could not find, the RC 3000 developers abandoned the spiral algorithm, preferring repetitive back and forth motions with some displacement:
The manufacturer describes the rules for handling contaminated sites as follows:
In my opinion, the spiral algorithm is better (it allows you to eliminate pollution more quickly):
Picture from the description of the Chinese NoName-robot.
However, I can’t confirm this thesis by reference to my own observations of the RC 3000 and Deepoo D76.
In this section, we will consider technical solutions regarding which there is no uniquely definite canonical opinion in the community: each of these features will have both supporters and opponents. I will express my subjective attitude on each issue separately, without pretending, however, to approve a final decision on holistic in essence disputes.
Most vacuum cleaning robots must do a full cleaning of an arbitrarily complex room in the time until the battery runs out (or until the dumpster is clogged).
Obviously, this is not always possible, and manufacturers use various tricks to bring the real result closer to the ideal: they increase the capacity (and cost) of batteries, increase the speed of units (complicating the mechanics and the control part), introduce a system of equal distribution of robot efforts between rooms. (requiring the user to purchase and maintain additional devices - "beacons"), etc.
In RC 3000, the problem is solved, in my opinion, much more elegantly. He simply was given an "infinite" cleaning time. Not enough charge to clean the third room? No problem, we charge the battery and clean the whole apartment again. One day, the ill-starred room number 3 will be removed.
The apartment is too dirty and the container is filled in two square meters? Well, unload the trash and continue cleaning. Sooner or later the whole area will be cleared.
RC 3000 is similar to a Chinese worker or a stupid student: he takes him out of business and diligence. Where Roomba segments an apartment to be removed in half an hour, the RC 3000 simply removes three, six, or nine hours. Without requiring installation and configuration of "beacons", powered by batteries that need to be changed regularly .
I advise this model, first of all, those who regularly leave their homes for quite a long time (for example, the classic situation: children to school, parents to work). Or for those who have room space allows them to run quite far from themselves (otherwise it will make noise and get underfoot). Or those who have nerves of iron, and who will be able to be friendly to the device crawling alongside.
For users who need to get out quickly, I recommend to think very well before buying this model: if the cleaning time is equal, the RC 3000 will most likely lose the same Rumba. Well, or, at least, will not be able to reveal their advantages.
"Helicopters" are called small side brushes. It is assumed that their robot will clean the garbage from hard-to-reach places to which the main brush will not reach. As examples, usually give sections of the floor along the baseboards, around the legs of furniture, etc .:
Proponents of the presence of this structural element argue that without it it is impossible to achieve effective cleaning, because the garbage from hard-to-reach places will not go anywhere, and with time the space along the walls will turn into a dump.
Their opponents (including Karcher) use less obvious arguments that the “helicopter” is not needed or even harmful. As a justification of the meaninglessness of this constructive solution, the thesis is presented that “the dirt in the corners will not accumulate, because it will simply have no place to take, since most of the robot will remove . "
The damage to the side brush is usually illustrated by two examples: “the robot got stuck driving into the carpet ” and “the robot wound thread / tulle / sock and stopped moving ”:
In practice (everyone remembers that I immediately warned about the subjectivity of the findings in this section?) The situation is as follows. RC 3000 doesn't have “helicopters”. But there is a nozzle from which it blows air:
There is an opinion that the air flow injected by the internal turbine will blow garbage from remote locations to open spaces where the robot can pick it up with the main brush. This idea is most fully implemented in the Ottoro S-100 with its Air Brush technology:
Hanool Robotics (manufacturer Ottoro S-100) applied a system of raising debris and to the main cleaning element, abandoning even the main brush:
In real life, this idea works, but not always. Light rubbish is really blown away, heavy (in my case - pieces of fallen paint) - it remains to lie in place. The cleaning process takes quite a long time, but in the end, the robot manages to collect almost everything:
The manufacturer says this:
To illustrate [not] the effectiveness of such a constructive solution, I can cite the following information: earlier (before buying a robot vacuum cleaner), by the end of the working week, clouds of dust and carpet wool had accumulated along the walls. Now they are not.
The base of the robot uses replaceable paper bags:
Very convenient, according to the manufacturer and most users, a thing: you can clean the base without seeing (important for particularly sensitive noble virgins) rubbish and not touching it (really important for allergy sufferers).
However, even such a decision had opponents criticizing it, firstly, for the high cost of consumables, and secondly, for low-tech.
In practice, it is possible to reuse disposable garbage bags for the base - it is enough to make an incision in the side wall of the bag in order to take out the garbage through it. You can do even easier and unload the garbage from the bag with a regular (large) vacuum cleaner through the standard hole. Well, for those who are not squeamish, there is a manual method for removing garbage. Disposable bag lasts for 3 - 5 times.
Regarding the constructive, we can say that bags are easier to maintain than cyclone filters, and more efficient than most devices with a container for collecting dust. In general, the engineers at Kercher have developed a reasonably efficient and effective cleaning system for the robot at the base station.
Unlike most modern vacuum cleaning robots equipped with lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries, the RC 3000 uses old-school NiMh batteries. This fact is both an object of attack from critics, and an argument in favor of this model by well-wishers.
The fact is that NiMh batteries lose to their lithium-ion and lithium-polymer counterparts in terms of capacity / weight ratio. In addition, the batteries used in the RC 3000 are much more affected by the memory effect. Naturally, this is bad.
On the other hand, the mode of operation reduces both the battery requirements and the load on it. Indeed, unlike other robots, for example Roomba, for RC 3000, a drop in battery capacity even by 35% will not become critical. Roomba with such a degradation of the battery simply can not have time to clean the apartment. The RC 3000 will just go to recharge more often. A regular exercise of the battery (discharged almost completely during the cleaning - charged at the base) allows to level the memory effect.
In addition, lithium-ion batteries degrade over time, even if not used . Their nimh-get up are deprived of this disadvantage. RC-3000 batteries are said to last four years or more.
According to the manufacturer’s description, the RC 3000 uses the following motion algorithm:
The robot does not perform [pseudo] random trajectory changes during movement , only a reaction to obstacles, therefore, on average, it tends to corners and walls, paying less attention to the middle of the room. UPD : Habrauzer OLS in its comment refutes the last statement.
Critics claim that the motion algorithm does not provide optimal floor covering (the robot vacuums much more often near the walls than in the center), and the lack of modes does not allow for efficient cleaning until the battery runs out of power. Advertisers Karcher argue the opposite.
In reality, the robot does not need to complete cleaning before the end of the battery charge, so the question of the efficiency of the algorithm does not matter: even if it goes somehow “wrong” due to the long cleaning time, it will be in time.
In this section, we will try to consider the questions that usually arise for readers of reviews of robotic vacuum cleaners.
One of the most frequently asked questions concerns the ability of a robot to overcome clusters of wires. All habrayuders know that there should be no such clusters, that the wires should be either carefully packed into cable channels, or replaced by wireless data and energy transfer devices altogether. However, in real life, everything is not always good and for some potential users the issue with wires is still relevant.
RC 3000 perfectly overcomes the accumulation of wires. In real conditions, I have never seen a robot stuck in a bundle of wires — it either moves them or doesn’t go there at all (if we are talking about very thick power cables). Implied default in such matters pieces of twisted pair and power supply cables of household appliances are not difficult for this robot:
Of course, you can choose a configuration of wires that the robot can not overcome, but I have not met mention of the fact that the wires have become for someone a real problem when operating this device.
Another object of great public interest is the question of how this robot will behave if it encounters the scattered things of the owners. Let us leave the questions of upbringing, discipline, and the admissibility of having garments on the floor beyond the scope of this article and try to answer the question in its most common formulation: “ And if my socks are scattered on the floor? What will happen to the robot in this case? ”
The tests showed thatsocks are much more serious obstacles for the robot than wires:
However, the robot for socks is also not useful:
Subjectively, not very much. At least, much less than the glossy plastic Ecovacs Deepoo D76. This is how a robot looks after sixteen months of daily use in a rather complex (cast iron batteries, old furniture with protruding bolts, etc.) environment:
The glossy strip is scratched a little stronger (I think it's not so much about the properties of plastic, but about the location: after all, the robot often touches obstacles with this protrusion):
In short, nothing bad will happen. The web came across reviews of users of this robot - owners of complex apartments with many (five - six) rooms of up to two hundred square meters. According to them, the RC 3000 copes with the cleaning of such premises. The manufacturer claims that in nine hours the robot manages to clean a room of one hundred thirty-five square meters.
Honestly, before the purchase, I myself was not sure whether the robot could handle the three-room apartment. It was especially hard to believe that he would squeeze into the kitchen:
There were also doubts about the ability of RC 3000 to clean up the space behind the bed:
However, my fears were in vain: due to a very long working time (I usually turn it on before leaving for work), the robot manages to visit all or almost all the rooms. Yes, he does not build a map of the area, he can go three times to the bedroom and only once - to the hallway, but in the end, he will visit the entire apartment.
Over time, I discovered an unexpected (for myself) pattern: the less often a robot enters a room, the longer it spends in it. If you think about it, this is quite logical: the room into which the robot rarely calls in, most likely, has a complex passage configuration (narrow doorway, presence of obstacles, etc.), which prevents the passage of the portal in both directions .
For example, if the entrance to the kitchen is partially obscured by a dishwasher (as it was at one time with me), the robot will go there relatively rarely, but, once drove in, it will clean this room until the battery runs out of power (or the container ), because the probability of leaving the room is rather small (but sufficient to reach the base located in another room).
When the cleaning time is long enough, difficult and easily accessible rooms are cleaned about equally well, but in different ways: the robot rarely cleans the first, but carefully, the second often, but not for too long. The effect, I repeat, is the same.
To illustrate the movement of a robot in a room with a large number of obstacles, I’ll give a record of the RC 3000 trip to an intentionally littered hallway. As you can see, he rather evenly “pokes” into the walls and doors, if they were open, the robot would have called in other rooms:
In general, during the operation, I met a robot in the most, it would seem, unexpected places, in which he, I thought, definitely would not stop. So with the robot's “penetrating power” everything is fine.
If the robot fits under the furniture, it cleans under it. If it does not fit, it does not remove. It's simple. Difficulties begin when the gap under the furniture (in my case - it was a wardrobe and a nightstand in the kitchen) is approximately equal to the height of the robot. Sometimes a vacuum cleaner with overclocking enters and gets stuck, not being able to go back.
A few months after the purchase of this device, I raised all the “problem” furniture with legs. Now the difficulty for the RC 3000 is only the space under the bed, where the leg, the carpet and the plinth are very unsuccessfully combined: the robot rests on the leg, gives back and stern climbs onto the plinth:
In the video, he successfully left the bed, but in life he does not always succeed. Not too often, no more than once every two weeks, but it happens.
The robot is equipped with elevation sensors. As soon as the surface ends under the sensor (for example, in the case when the robot moves down from the step), the motors stop and then the vacuum cleaner changes direction. In other words, he himself will not fall:
The problem may be children or animals dropping a robot from a ladder, but this is no longer relevant to the design of this device.
And one more remark about exploitation in a house with several floors: I came across several stories in which the authors bought one RC 3000 per floor. According to them, it is easier and cheaper than making a smooth descent, which the robot could ride.
Under normal conditions, the algorithm works as follows:
From my own experience I know that such a description does not satisfy the curiosity of a person who chooses a model of a robotic vacuum cleaner for purchase, therefore, I consider it appropriate to offer a small visual illustration.
For testing purposes, a small area of ​​the carpet was fenced (carpets were dauntingly difficult to clean, the more interesting), deliberately contaminated with rice (imitation of medium-sized garbage), wet flour (imitation of sticky / oily dirt), AA batteries (imitation of large objects, for example , parts of children's toys) and threads (not quite a full imitation of hair / wool), in coins:
Then Karher RC 3000 was placed in this area and turned on in the endless mode. The cleaning took about fourteen and a half minutes, after which it was interrupted. During the cleaning, the robot destroyed the restrictions several times, escaping from the playpen organized for it, but I think it did not affect the result:
As you can see, it has become noticeably cleaner. Flour and coins removed completely, thread - almost everything. Some rice remains (especially at the site boundaries) and batteries:
Robot-harvested rice and the only remaining thread:
I am sure that if the robot were given more time (offhand, five to seven hours), he would clean everything, except for the batteries.
First, it should be noted that the real effectiveness of the base is much lower than the manufacturer claims. Manual cleaning of the brush and the unit itself is sometimes necessary, despite the presence of a base.
Self-cleaning robot can not cope with the following types of pollution:
Everything else, in principle, cleared well. The general rule is this: the main thing is that the brush is clean, then the garbage will be removed from the main container in the normal mode. Unfortunately, it is the brush that gets contaminated first.
In practice, about once every two weeks I have to clean the robot manually. Without this, it is removed quite a short time (the container is filled), often on the base than on the floor.
Why, with all the shortcomings of the RC 3000 self-cleaning system, I chose this particular model? Basically, for two reasons. Firstly, without a base, I would have to clean it every day (which is much more often than once every two weeks), and, secondly, self-cleaning works even worse for competitors (I personally compared Doooo D76, I read about Navibot-S).
To illustrate, we turn to the data obtained as a result of the previous experiment. After the cleaning was completed, a certain amount of garbage turned out to be in the robot: The
robot was allowed to the base, successfully loaded the garbage into it, but did not become much cleaner in the tank:
However, after ten cleaning cycles (approximately eight to nine hours in normal mode), almost all of the contents of the robot container went to the base:
Not.This robot, as well as all similar devices, needs regular maintenance: cleaning the main brush from threads, hair, lines, wires, etc.
Like other models, the RC 3000 needs to be cleaned: remove debris from it, wipe the exterior of the case, monitor the cleanliness of the wheels, etc.
Unlike, for example, iRobot products, which do not have a base for unloading a robot, with regular use of the RC 3000, it will also be necessary to maintain the base, for example, to change bags in it.
In conditions of rather heavy pollution (old molting carpets, bicycles, etc. - see description), one bag is filled in about 1.5 - 2.5 months. In the network there are terms from two weeks to six months.
Choosing the location of the base is very important for the RC 3000. The ratio of the cleaning / recharging time spent by the robot and the probability of successful parking (and hence, the continuation of cleaning) depends on where you put it.
The fact is that the robot in question does not have any means of orientation in space. He can neither "see the base on the map" nor "remember where he went and go back the same way." Instead of these (undoubtedly, the best) actions, the robot moves erratically in search of a base.
To facilitate this task for him, the base sends an infrared beam. As the robot crosses this beam, its actions become much more meaningful. It stops moving erratically, orients along the beam and moves to the base:
The general rule of thumb for positioning the base is as follows: place it in such a way that the probability of the robot crossing the beam is maximum:
If you do not follow this advice, the robot will search for the base for a very long time (the probability that it will not find it at all is sufficiently small; batteries, which the robot keeps on searching for itself, is very large, and allows sooner or later to find the base in even the most hard-to-reach places).
The exception to this rule is the operation of a simple layout in the room (for example, in one large room). There, on the contrary, the beam should be directed so that the robot would look for it longer in susceptibility mode (see the next item), thereby increasing the time of harvesting. However, since even the “dormitories” have several distinct sections (entrance hall, room, bathroom), in practice it is better to use the rule formulated above.
The robot has four modes of cleaning duration:
Modes are set on the base (and not on the robot, as in other models). If the cleaning time has expired, then after the next cleaning / recharging, the base will give the robot a signal, and the robot will not go anywhere, remaining close to the base:
During operation, the RC 3000 operates as follows:
In practice, my RC 3000 cleans up forty minutes, after which it takes about fifteen or twenty minutes at the base. Thus, during the absence of the average office worker at home, the robot will make 8 to 12 flights around the apartment.
Despite all the shortcomings of the RC 3000, I am very pleased with this robot, and I consider it to be the best option for users who are more interested in the vacuum cleaner robots than the “robotized” component.
In general, this model is much closer to household appliances in the form in which we know it, and not to the Lego constructor (like iRobot) or a toy for adult geeks (like Neato XV-11). It can be said that this device is boring: there are no opportunities for upgrades, no remote controls, no entertainment functions. This robot simply cleans your apartment (or office) every day without demanding attention. In this regard, it is similar to Unix system daemons: it drives in the background, does not interact with the user, rarely requires maintenance and does something useful.
It seems to me that this is how home-robots should be - easy to use, minimal in design, reliable in operation. And the function of meeting the needs for creativity and entertainment, in my opinion, it is better to transfer to completely different devices.
On the effectiveness of robotic cleaning, you can say the following: RC 3000 removes worse than you. A person with a rag (vacuum cleaner, paragenerator,flamethrower, who likes what more) will leave behind a much cleaner floor. RC 3000 will not move the cabinet, will not wipe the dust on the shelves, will not throw the dried flower out of the vase, will not bring order to the desktop.
But he will collect dust and debris from the floor. When cleaning the robot (or changing the base bag), you will be surprised at how dirty you were.
RC 3000 solves only one problem, but does it well. It really completely eliminates the need to perform any action for the daily maintenance of clean floors. And that I like him.
Ps Thank Nitatunarabe for help in illustrating the article.
However, among the wide range of motives invented by mankind for daily housekeeping, I could not find my own. Laziness invariably triumphed over both rational arguments about the need to vacuum every day, and over emotional impulses, whose energy was only enough to swear: " Why, again, no one has gone! "
Once I confessed to myself that the matter was not “lack of time” or “fatigue after work”, but banal unwillingness to take this damn vacuum cleaner in hand, I decided that I needed to automate the cleaning process, for example, to buy a cleaning robot .
')
Robust and reliable cleaning robot that can function normally in the most difficult conditions:
My choice fell on the RC 3000 from Karcher , the impressions of the operation of which this article is dedicated to.
Formulation of the problem
So, I realized that I needed an assistant in the household who would make the floor in the apartment cleaner, preferably myself, completely without my participation. Friends and acquaintances advised to “marry”, but, firstly, this luxury is clearly beyond my means, and, secondly, this action does not solve the aforesaid problem in any way (I consider it improper to use the spouse as an electric shredder).
The option of a housekeeper or outsourcing in a cleaning company was rejected for both economic and ideological reasons: even the lowest paid “aunt-cleaner”, who takes four thousand rubles a month for her services, will cost me almost fifty thousand rubles a month later, and This is excluding taxes and other social contributions. In addition, the very idea of ​​using domestic workers seems to me humiliating. "The exploitation of man by man," and all that.
Yes, and, in the end, the twenty-first century in the courtyard, it is time to give the household problems at the mercy of robots and other household appliances. With this in mind, I began to analyze the offer of devices for automated cleaning. It turned out that there are three types of them:
- Ground robots. These devices operate on the principle of an electric mop: they wipe the floor with a special high-tech nano-napkin. Do not know how to clean carpets (for me it is important). A typical representative is iRobot Mint, a review of which was recently presented by nagimov .
- Robo scrubber. These devices really clean the floor. They have a tank of water (more precisely, a mixture of water and detergent), this mixture is poured onto the floor, and then sucked by the robot into another tank. Can not cope with carpets, require a very flat flooring. As far as I know, this kind of devices is represented by only one family of Scooba from iRobot .
- Robot vacuum cleaners. Perform dry cleaning of the room, collecting dust and small debris. Able to move on carpets, some models have the ability to clean them.
It was decided to focus on vacuum cleaning robots, since they require the least amount of time and effort to maintain and operate in the widest range of conditions.
It remains only to choose a specific model that, on the one hand, would be as reliable as possible, and on the other, would provide the most complete automation of the process. I treat these devices as household appliances, without feeling the pleasure of reversing, upgrading and other creative and technical operations for the study of robotic vacuum cleaners, I needed the most complete solution, working on the principle of " bought, turned on, forgot, and there it was somehow works . "
terms of Use
Talking about the choice of a technical solution for the automation of cleaning the room can not be constructive without a description of the conditions in which this solution will be used. In addition, knowledge of the nature of these conditions will allow the reader to more adequately perceive information about the practical experience of using the selected device.
Let's start with an example: the commercial of the Karcher RC 3000 robot vacuum cleaner with the pompous name " Future is now " shows us an already clean room (more like an office than a real apartment), in which the robot heroically conducts a vivid imitation of cleaning several specially
Personally, the video caused indignation in me: why does the manufacturer show the robot in such " greenhouse conditions"? Will he cope with the apartment of the usual Zamkad rogue, or is the eurorepair vital?
To answer these questions ( curiosity was the second motive for buying the RC 3000 after laziness), I decided to test the robot in my home environment. This is a three-room rented apartment with a total area of ​​about fifty six square meters:
The paint applied to the doors, batteries and window sills under Soviet power began to fall off in large pieces, whitewash from the ceiling, which has been crumbling from the same time, PVC tile in one of the rooms crumbles, exposing the board floor, on which once held tile. Leaky windows allow air (and therefore dust) from the street.
Under the terms of hiring some furniture and carpets can not be thrown away. Chipboard furniture periodically pleases with sawdust, and old, half-rotten carpets daily eject hundreds of wool from themselves.
The apartment is located in a great area with developed infrastructure and good transport accessibility, next to the forest (where you can perfectly ride a bike) and the bay, while it is very cheap, so I am not going to change it.
Thus, my robot vacuum cleaner has to work in very difficult conditions, and it has little chance of improving them.
Naturally, the robot must have a high structural strength and a good mechanical component in order not to break under such conditions.
General information about such devices
Electrobroom
The first thing I would like to say is the generic naming of these devices. Usually they are called vacuum cleaning robots, which is wrong, since most of these devices (of the exceptions, perhaps, only Neato XV-11 and Ottoro S-100 can be noted) are not vacuum cleaners.
According to Wikipedia , a vacuum cleaner is a “device for cleaning dust and dirt from surfaces by suction by air flow.” The considered devices, as a rule, do not suck up the garbage, but throw it into the tank due to the movement of the brushes (suction is also used, but this is only an additional function). It would be more correct to call this technique robots-electrics (after all, in fact, they do not vacuum, namely sweep).
This is not about a simple dispute about terminology, because the principle of operation of the device determines, ultimately, the efficiency of cleaning in certain conditions. In particular, vacuum cleaning robots (we will not change the established terminology) are surprisingly effective when cleaning carpets, despite the low (compared to traditional floor vacuum cleaners) suction power.
This is explained by the presence of a rotating brush that “pulls” garbage (sometimes with a nap) from the carpet. This also explains the relatively poor ability of these devices to remove heavy or sticky fine dust. Suction power is not enough to tighten the dust particles, and the brushes throw them not high enough.
Types of motion algorithms
Most of the devices available on the market can be divided into two categories: moving relatively randomly and having a plan to bypass the premises. Robots belonging to the first group move around the apartment, changing the trajectory in a collision with obstacles. Some models also change direction in the absence of obstacles, realizing the algorithms laid down by the manufacturer for optimal surface coverage of the room.
Representatives of the second group in one way or another build a "room map". There are several approaches to solving this problem: the use of LIDAR , the use of a video camera that removes the ceiling, the use of an external navigation system located on the wall, etc.
As a rule, a person who does not have practical experience in using robotic cleaners prefers to see “elements of intelligence” in his devices, considering that building a map is the key to high-quality cleaning. Apparently, in this case, a phenomenon similar to empathy works: a person evaluates not the effectiveness of one or another way of moving the robot, but his ideas about how he, a reasonable person, would find it easier to remove the room.
In fact, robots moving [pseudo] randomly, more efficiently (most of the robots from TOP 10 according to Robotsaldetalle.es move “chaotically”). There is a simple explanation for this, which does not require any special knowledge in the field of algorithm analysis and / or robotics to understand.
If moving "chaotically" (some models have advanced motion algorithms, and their movements only seem erratic ), the robot did not remove some part of the floor during the current cycle, it will remove it the next time. Or after two starts. Or even someday. And the chances that this will happen soon enough, the higher the more often you start the robot. The “errors” (expressed in the fact that the area accessible to the robot physically remains uncleared only because the robot simply did not drive in there) do not accumulate.
In the case of devices using the card, the situation is somewhat different: if the robot "believes" that it does not need to enter the table, it will ignore this space every time: the same data are fed to the input of the same behavioral algorithm - hence , the output is the same result. The error is repeated from time to time (until the user updates the firmware of the device, or until the external conditions change - furniture placement, door position, etc.)
The difference between the two approaches can be clearly demonstrated with the following illustration:
Photo from the article " Saubermänner: 24 Saugroboter von 200 bis 1150 Euro im Test "
Analyzing these images, remember that the robot most effectively removes the space that is under its main brush (or trash suction hole for brushless models). The denser the trajectory lines that are adjacent to each other, the higher the quality of cleaning. As you can see, “chaotic” movements provide somewhat greater coverage.
Of course, manufacturers are trying to improve the motion algorithms of their products, adding an element of randomness to the movement of “deterministic” models, on the one hand, and ordering “random” movements of “chaotic” devices, on the other.
As a result, in practice, the described schemes in their pure form are quite rare, but the general trend is the same: building a map looks cool and interesting, but impractical from the point of view of coverage efficiency. Pseudo-random movements allow for more efficient cleaning, but reduce the initial attractiveness of the product in the eyes of an inexperienced buyer.
If we talk specifically about the RC 3000, its coverage map looks like this:
Photo from the article " Saubermänner: 24 Saugroboter von 200 bis 1150 Euro im Test "
At first glance, the result is noticeably inferior to that shown in the previous illustration. But in fact, only one iteration is taken into account, and the RC 3000, unlike most competitors, can make a lot of cleaning trips, gradually covering the entire area of ​​the room. Read more about this below.
Review of competing solutions
The device discussed in this topic is rather exotic for Russian realities, therefore, before proceeding directly with its review, I consider it necessary to say a few words about its competitors, more familiar to the reader, their advantages, disadvantages and the reasons for choosing RC 3000
iRobot Roomba
Perhaps the most popular robot vacuum cleaner in the world. For many people, its name has become a household name, denoting the entire class of such devices. Produced by a large, respected American company iRobot, which has extensive experience in robotics, incl. military. Several articles on Habré were devoted to this model, among which we can mention " Year with Roomba " from optemist habrauser . An overview of the representative of the previous generation of this series, which is still freely available for sale and has not lost its relevance of the robot of the 500th series, is available in the AbyssMoon article entitled " Overview of the iRobot Roomba 505 Robot Vacuum Cleaner "
Actual at the time of writing the model, Roomba 790, has acquired a remote control:
The main advantage of Roomba robots, of course, is their prevalence. Hundreds of communities have been created for their discussions, a lot of hacks and mods have been developed, the Chinese are producing fake cheap parts, and merchants from CIS countries are organizing repair services. Geeks collect on their basis their uber-devices and hack firmware , and ordinary users write thousands of reviews, from which you can find out all the device buyer’s interesting data. If you have a problem with such a robot, you can easily find advice on how to solve it on the Web and a specialist who is ready to eliminate it offline.
This robot has no fatal flaws - the model is quite mature, due to the manufacturer’s extensive experience in the field of robotics. However, there are some features that make uninteresting and unsuitable for solving the problem. First of all, we are talking about the need to clean the robot:
Opinions differ on how often this should be done. Most of the ratings of Russian users (this is important, in the United States or Europe, the interiors differ from ours) range from “after each launch” to “once every three days.” Of course, there are those who have enough cleaning once a month, but we will not take into account the opinion of these pedants: maintaining such cleanliness in an apartment is a task too laborious.
The second feature that I didn’t like about iRobot products is the multi-room treatment system. The fact is that during operation, the robot determines the area of ​​the room by the Monte Carlo method (goes back and forth many times) and, depending on the value obtained, determines the time required to clean the room. If you run it, for example, in the bedroom, it can vacuum it without “realizing” that the corridor leads from the bedroom to the nursery, and from there to the kitchen. The last two rooms will not be processed (more precisely, they may or may not be removed).
To avoid situations in which a part of the premises is ignored by the robot, the manufacturer recommends the use of beacons — special radio devices that allow the vacuum cleaner to determine the boundaries of the premises (and, accordingly, their number) and plan their time properly. Why are lighthouses bad? Because, firstly, they cost money (they need quite a lot, in my case, five of them), and, secondly, they run on batteries. Which you need to remember to charge or buy.
In other words, the tool designed to make life easier for the user makes him, firstly, regularly serve himself (not a very pleasant process, I must say), and, secondly, remember myself, which is, in my opinion, outrageous: so and I can vacuum myself, I just need not forget and not be lazy .
Neato XV-11
Perhaps the second most popular robot in the States. It is interesting by the unusual shape of the body (according to the manufacturer, it allows the robot to more efficiently handle the corners), navigation system. This robot, unlike the previous one, does not travel in a pseudo-random manner, but builds a room map: first, it passes through the apartment, “looking” into each room to create a map for itself. Then on this map, he paves the route. The system guarantees that, firstly, the robot will not miss a single piece of floor surface, and, secondly, it will not begin to vacuum the same area twice (in the strict sense, of course, such guarantees cannot be given, but about this later. The trend is indeed that). The Web has repeatedly expressed the opinion that the purchase of Neato XV (in this series there are several robots that are almost the same) is the cheapest way to get high-quality LIDAR for the robotics lover.
In addition, the model XV-11 is distinguished by the complete absence of brushes : there is neither a main brush, nor side “helicopters”, as well as an increased (compared to analogues) suction power.
Instead of a brush , this thing is used:
Photo from the article Neato XV-11 (XV-12 / XV-15) review
As the wersoo habraiser has rightly pointed out in the comments, there is a brush in the Neato XV-21.
The main disadvantage of this robot is that almost all of the declared characteristics are not confirmed in everyday operation: the “super-powered” turbine actually copes with debris worse than a brush, and the navigation system due to accumulated inaccuracies leads to the formation of areas that the device does not vacuum. And he makes a lot of noise.
upd : Lipskiy in the comments expressed a different point of view , according to which, the RC 3000 is significantly inferior to the robots from Neato .
Samsung Navibot-S
One of the few robots with a full base in which it can unload garbage as it fills a tank located inside a moving unit. In this regard, it is close to the RC 3000, but, unlike the latter, it has a more advanced motion algorithm: this robot builds a room map using a video camera aimed at ... the ceiling.
Very elegant, in my opinion, solution - on the one hand, the problem with the view is eliminated (there are usually fewer obstacles above the robot than next to it), on the other hand the map is quite accurate (the ceiling plan almost always coincides with the floor plan).
If such a robot comes under a bed, it “realizes” this fact and will not perceive the space under the obstacle as a separate room. Well, in order to drive around objects located on the floor, the robot has special algorithms for “bypassing obstacles”. How the system will work in a domed room, I do not know :)
It would seem the perfect solution, but, like everything else in this world, this device has its drawbacks. In the case of Nabvibot-S, the main problem is the weakness of the mechanical and, in fact, “vacuum” component. Numerous reports that the robot can not move the forgotten sock, gets tangled in the wires, cannot collect large pieces of dirt, etc., as well as insider information from a representative of a large hardware store that describes the imperfection of the undercarriage of this device, caused the formation opinions about the impracticality of this robot.
Ecovacs Deepoo D-76
Like Navibot-S, this robot has a complete base capable of removing accumulated debris from the main tank of the robot. Moreover, unlike competitors, Ecovacs offers a modular solution: the base of the robot is transformed into a separate full-fledged wearable mini vacuum cleaner for cleaning furniture (unfortunately, none of the robot vacuum cleaners on the market can wipe the cabinet or clean the chair). Initially, I considered Deepoo D-76 as the main candidate for the purchase - " the same Karcher, only cheaper ."
However, on closer examination, it turned out that this option is not as good as I imagined. First, despite the fact that the base is able to take in excess garbage, the robot itself, after unloading the contents of the container, does not continue cleaning until the next automatic launch (no more than twice a day). Those. if in the first room the container is filled, the rest will simply not be removed.Secondly, the battery capacity is enough for 40 minutes of real work, and the robot also does not know how to recharge and continue working. Thirdly, the base is equipped with a cyclone-type filter, which needs to be cleaned regularly (which is quite laborious), otherwise the suction power drops dramatically, and most of the garbage remains in the robot's container.
One of my colleagues bought this model and gave the opportunity to test. It turned out that in my conditions the base would have to be washed after each launch. In addition, the body of the robot is made of a completely unsuitable for such devices glossy plastic, on which the smallest scratches are clearly visible and which, moreover, is very poorly cleaned. By the way about cleaning: the robot has a huge number of sinuses, "corners", "zagogulin" and other extremely difficult to clean places. Wash it after testing was a real punishment. Another argument against this is the terrible, in my opinion, implementation of the mechanism of rotation of the main brush with guides from ... felt.
In practice, after a few starts, the felt “bearings” are either ground off, or crushed, or cut by wound threads. And all this flight of engineering is completed by the open belt drive of the main brush drive, which constantly collects hair, wire, etc. In general, the " cheap Karcher " will not be able to buy.
But, if you buy it, he will be able to soften your grief from wasted money by singing a song or dancing a dance :
Purchase
The vacuum cleaner was purchased at KĂ„RCHER Shop & Service Schreiber in Germany. At the time of purchase it was the easiest and cheapest way to purchase this device: in Russia it cost about 50,000 rubles, it cost me about 32,000 rubles, including delivery. Now it makes no sense to order from abroad: the official representative of the manufacturer sells the RC 3000 for 30,000 rubles .
The delivery was carried out by the Post of Russia, the parcel, contrary to the prejudices widespread on the Web against this organization, reached without any problems in 15 days:
Contents of delivery
Most of the box is occupied by the base station, designed to recharge the robot and clean the onboard garbage collector:
The robot itself is packed inside a separate small box:
Freshly unpacked RC 3000, bottom view:
In addition to the base and the robot, warranty documents, instructions, several additional bags were included in the package and a lottery ticket from the store.
Impressions from operation
At the time of writing, the RC 3000 has been working for me for more than a year. During this time, he never broke down and did not demand serious maintenance. Some of its features disappointed me, others, on the contrary, liked me. Consider the most important, in my opinion, the characteristics of this device.
What did you like
Let's start with the properties of the RC 3000, which are traditionally considered its strengths.
Dimensions
One of the key benefits of the Karcher solution is the compact size of the robot. Its diameter is 285 mm, and the height (including the “horns”) is 105 mm. For comparison, "the default robot cleaner", iRobot Roomba has the following overall characteristics: diameter 353 mm, height - 91 mm.
A visual representation of the ratio of the sizes of popular modern models of robotic vacuum cleaners can be given by the following illustration:
Reducing the design is achieved by shifting the emphasis during cleaning: the robot does not need to have time to clean the entire room on one charge (i.e., you don’t need to carry large heavy batteries), you don’t need to keep all the garbage in you (therefore, you can greatly reduce the onboard garbage bin ). This in itself makes it possible to reduce the size of the device, and reducing the size also reduces the weight, which makes it possible to install smaller, relatively weak engines.
In practice, the smaller size of the robot means that it is easier for it to penetrate into hard-to-reach areas of the room — behind (or under) the furniture, between the legs of the chairs, into various niches, etc. In my case, no other robot would simply squeeze into the kitchen.
In the upper part of the case, the RC 3000 has flexible rubber “horns” (or “ears”, as they are sometimes called), which allow it to move out from under low pieces of furniture: the robot, hooked with “horns,” begins to crawl in the opposite direction, the horns bend slightly , and allow him to leave, avoiding sticking:
Possibility to continue cleaning
Unlike most competitors, for whom running out of battery power or filling a dumpster is equivalent to completing a cleaning cycle, the RC 3000 can recharge and empty the container: it goes to the base, unloads the garbage and charges the battery. After that - continues cleaning.
Here it is necessary to clarify: he does not go to the very place where he graduated (he doesn’t know anything about the topography of the room at all), but he continues to do the cleaning while many other robots do not do it.
This approach allows you to maintain large and / or very dirty rooms. Yes, the total cleaning time increases, but what's the difference if it happens automatically and does not require your participation?
Build quality and materials
I am not a specialist in plastics assessment, so I will describe my subjective feelings, according to which, the quality of assembly and materials of the RC 3000 is very high. Plastic matte, strong, scratch-resistant. Without smell. Fingerprints are not visible on it (unlike, for example, Deepoo D76). The case gives the impression of a solid monolithic structure, there is no backlash, there is no creaking, the fitting of the parts is very accurate.
Rubber wheels are soft enough to ensure good adhesion to any surface. At the same time, rubber is very durable and practically does not wear off during operation.
The mechanism for fixing the lid of the garbage container is very conveniently arranged - two snap-on clamps provide ease of removal and, at the same time, reliable fixation of this element:
Photo from the article " Tip of The Month: Karcher RC3000 Maintanance "
Compare with plastic bolts Deepoo D76 (imagine what they will turn into after a few dozen cleanings.):
Low noise
Unfortunately, I could not find the noise level of the robot itself on the Network. But it is noticeably lower, at least compared to the iClebo, Ecovacs Deepoo D76 and the Chinese NoName-robots. Offhand, it is a half to two times quieter.
Chassis
The chassis of the robot is made at a very high level. The bottom of the robot is movably connected to the upper part of the body. Such a connection allows you to absorb shocks when a robot collides with obstacles: most of the energy is assumed by a casing made of durable plastic, and much less comes to electronics / mechanics.
The device has an independent suspension that allows you to effectively overcome relatively high obstacles:
Bearings and gears, ensuring the movement of the brush, are installed in closed housings, which prevents hair and dust from entering the brush unit.
Unlike, for example, Rumba:
Hair in gears iRobot Roomba
The presence of the base
Of course, the main advantage of this model (compared, for example, with Roomba) is the presence of a full base. By “usefulness”, I mean her ability to perform both of the main tasks of servicing a robot — recharging batteries and cleaning brushes / garbage bin:
For the sake of justice, I note that in practice, the second task is solved worse than the first, but more on this in the section with disadvantages.
In my (obviously biased and subjective) opinion, the presence of a cleaning base is an essential feature of a robot vacuum cleaner that is suitable for realoperation. Otherwise, the solution is “half-hearted”: we automate the daily cleaning, but instead generate the need for daily (in the case of a really polluted environment) manual cleaning of the robot.
I do not know how to explain this from the point of view of psychology, but I had a great desire to get rid of the “ daily ”, from this unpleasant oppressive feeling that I should get out (or clean the robot) precisely today, and tomorrow I will have to do the same. Yes, let him serve himself, this is a robot!
Of particular note are some specific features of the RC 3000 base implementation, first of all, the garbage collection mechanism. Unlike competing models, the RC 3000 does not have a separate opening for garbage collection. Instead, the base sucks the contents of the container through the same hole through which the garbage enters it.
On the one hand, this is bad, because free movement of air flow prevents the robot brush. On the other hand, this is very good, since during unloading the cleaning of the brush itself also takes place (some of the adhered debris is blown off from it into the base). To increase the efficiency of the process, the brush rotates in the opposite direction, pushing the contents of the container into the base.
The robot determines the moment when it is necessary to go to the base (there are two criteria: either the batteries run out, or the trash can is full), it finds it and parks it:
What did not like
Like everything else in this world, the robot cleaner Karcher RC 3000 is not without some drawbacks. In this block, we will consider those features that are unambiguously assessed as negative. Technical decisions that cause mixed judgments and conflicting feelings are in a separate section.
Parking at the base is not always successful
Sometimes the robot can not park the first time. Sometimes - and from the second too. Rarely, he doesn’t have time to call at the base before the battery is fully used up:
In fairness, two facts should be noted:
- In the example shown in the video, the robot will successfully return to the base, having driven before it for half an hour through the rooms;
- This situation happens quite rarely, no more than once or twice a week (assuming the base is correctly positioned, see below)
Of course, developers could provide the robot with some kind of track-back system, but this would lead, firstly, to a departure from the KISS principle, and, secondly, to a significant increase in the cost of the device.
Not the most effective spot cleaning algorithm (spot mode)
All modern robotic vacuum cleaners have a so-called. “Enhanced cleaning mode” (“stain removal mode”, “spot mode”). Despite the difference in the names used by different manufacturers, its essence remains unchanged: the robot is equipped with pollution sensors (in the case of the RC 3000 it is an optocoupler that detects dirt particles in the incoming air flow, but there are other constructions) that determine what is dirty here.
Realizing that this area is very littered, the robot begins to intensively clean it. The classic is the spiral algorithm of spot cleaning, when the robot takes its current position as the center of the spiral, and begins to "unwind" it. Sometimes spiral movements are complemented by maneuvers to bypass obstacles:
A picture from Rakuten.co.jp, referring to an unknown device to me, branded under Hello Kitty.
For some reason, the explanations that I could not find, the RC 3000 developers abandoned the spiral algorithm, preferring repetitive back and forth motions with some displacement:
The manufacturer describes the rules for handling contaminated sites as follows:
The choice of the program of movement is carried out automatically using sensors located in the tank for garbage, depending on the recognized degree of contamination. The robot has four motion programs, with the help of which it is configured to different degrees of pollution of the floor. The dirtier the floor, the more intense the robot cleans it. If the degree of pollution is insignificant, the movement program No. 1 is established.
1. The program of the movement number 1 - the usual cleaning:
working with random passes at normal speed,2. The movement program number 2 - a separate contaminated area of ​​the surface:
slow passage through the contaminated area,3. The movement program number 3 - a separate, more heavily polluted area of ​​the surface:
slow forward / backward passage through the contaminated area,4. Movement program number 4 - a heavily polluted area of ​​a large area:
slow star-shaped, ray-diverging star-shaped passages through the contaminated area.
In my opinion, the spiral algorithm is better (it allows you to eliminate pollution more quickly):
Picture from the description of the Chinese NoName-robot.
However, I can’t confirm this thesis by reference to my own observations of the RC 3000 and Deepoo D76.
Controversial technical solutions
In this section, we will consider technical solutions regarding which there is no uniquely definite canonical opinion in the community: each of these features will have both supporters and opponents. I will express my subjective attitude on each issue separately, without pretending, however, to approve a final decision on holistic in essence disputes.
Cleaning approach
Most vacuum cleaning robots must do a full cleaning of an arbitrarily complex room in the time until the battery runs out (or until the dumpster is clogged).
Obviously, this is not always possible, and manufacturers use various tricks to bring the real result closer to the ideal: they increase the capacity (and cost) of batteries, increase the speed of units (complicating the mechanics and the control part), introduce a system of equal distribution of robot efforts between rooms. (requiring the user to purchase and maintain additional devices - "beacons"), etc.
In RC 3000, the problem is solved, in my opinion, much more elegantly. He simply was given an "infinite" cleaning time. Not enough charge to clean the third room? No problem, we charge the battery and clean the whole apartment again. One day, the ill-starred room number 3 will be removed.
The apartment is too dirty and the container is filled in two square meters? Well, unload the trash and continue cleaning. Sooner or later the whole area will be cleared.
RC 3000 is similar to a Chinese worker or a stupid student: he takes him out of business and diligence. Where Roomba segments an apartment to be removed in half an hour, the RC 3000 simply removes three, six, or nine hours. Without requiring installation and configuration of "beacons", powered by batteries that need to be changed regularly .
I advise this model, first of all, those who regularly leave their homes for quite a long time (for example, the classic situation: children to school, parents to work). Or for those who have room space allows them to run quite far from themselves (otherwise it will make noise and get underfoot). Or those who have nerves of iron, and who will be able to be friendly to the device crawling alongside.
For users who need to get out quickly, I recommend to think very well before buying this model: if the cleaning time is equal, the RC 3000 will most likely lose the same Rumba. Well, or, at least, will not be able to reveal their advantages.
The absence of a helicopter
"Helicopters" are called small side brushes. It is assumed that their robot will clean the garbage from hard-to-reach places to which the main brush will not reach. As examples, usually give sections of the floor along the baseboards, around the legs of furniture, etc .:
Proponents of the presence of this structural element argue that without it it is impossible to achieve effective cleaning, because the garbage from hard-to-reach places will not go anywhere, and with time the space along the walls will turn into a dump.
Their opponents (including Karcher) use less obvious arguments that the “helicopter” is not needed or even harmful. As a justification of the meaninglessness of this constructive solution, the thesis is presented that “the dirt in the corners will not accumulate, because it will simply have no place to take, since most of the robot will remove . "
The damage to the side brush is usually illustrated by two examples: “the robot got stuck driving into the carpet ” and “the robot wound thread / tulle / sock and stopped moving ”:
In practice (everyone remembers that I immediately warned about the subjectivity of the findings in this section?) The situation is as follows. RC 3000 doesn't have “helicopters”. But there is a nozzle from which it blows air:
There is an opinion that the air flow injected by the internal turbine will blow garbage from remote locations to open spaces where the robot can pick it up with the main brush. This idea is most fully implemented in the Ottoro S-100 with its Air Brush technology:
Hanool Robotics (manufacturer Ottoro S-100) applied a system of raising debris and to the main cleaning element, abandoning even the main brush:
In real life, this idea works, but not always. Light rubbish is really blown away, heavy (in my case - pieces of fallen paint) - it remains to lie in place. The cleaning process takes quite a long time, but in the end, the robot manages to collect almost everything:
The manufacturer says this:
Through continuous cleaning, the process of pollution of the room is greatly slowed down. Thus, the accumulation of garbage in the corners of rooms is effectively inhibited.
To illustrate [not] the effectiveness of such a constructive solution, I can cite the following information: earlier (before buying a robot vacuum cleaner), by the end of the working week, clouds of dust and carpet wool had accumulated along the walls. Now they are not.
Replaceable bags
The base of the robot uses replaceable paper bags:
Very convenient, according to the manufacturer and most users, a thing: you can clean the base without seeing (important for particularly sensitive noble virgins) rubbish and not touching it (really important for allergy sufferers).
However, even such a decision had opponents criticizing it, firstly, for the high cost of consumables, and secondly, for low-tech.
In practice, it is possible to reuse disposable garbage bags for the base - it is enough to make an incision in the side wall of the bag in order to take out the garbage through it. You can do even easier and unload the garbage from the bag with a regular (large) vacuum cleaner through the standard hole. Well, for those who are not squeamish, there is a manual method for removing garbage. Disposable bag lasts for 3 - 5 times.
Regarding the constructive, we can say that bags are easier to maintain than cyclone filters, and more efficient than most devices with a container for collecting dust. In general, the engineers at Kercher have developed a reasonably efficient and effective cleaning system for the robot at the base station.
NiMH batteries
Unlike most modern vacuum cleaning robots equipped with lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries, the RC 3000 uses old-school NiMh batteries. This fact is both an object of attack from critics, and an argument in favor of this model by well-wishers.
The fact is that NiMh batteries lose to their lithium-ion and lithium-polymer counterparts in terms of capacity / weight ratio. In addition, the batteries used in the RC 3000 are much more affected by the memory effect. Naturally, this is bad.
On the other hand, the mode of operation reduces both the battery requirements and the load on it. Indeed, unlike other robots, for example Roomba, for RC 3000, a drop in battery capacity even by 35% will not become critical. Roomba with such a degradation of the battery simply can not have time to clean the apartment. The RC 3000 will just go to recharge more often. A regular exercise of the battery (discharged almost completely during the cleaning - charged at the base) allows to level the memory effect.
In addition, lithium-ion batteries degrade over time, even if not used . Their nimh-get up are deprived of this disadvantage. RC-3000 batteries are said to last four years or more.
Motion algorithm
According to the manufacturer’s description, the RC 3000 uses the following motion algorithm:
The movement of the robot is controlled by the principle of randomness. When the robot encounters an obstacle, it changes its direction of movement at an arbitrary angle. After that, it moves straight until it hits a new obstacle.
The robot does not perform [pseudo] random trajectory changes during movement , only a reaction to obstacles, therefore, on average, it tends to corners and walls, paying less attention to the middle of the room. UPD : Habrauzer OLS in its comment refutes the last statement.
Critics claim that the motion algorithm does not provide optimal floor covering (the robot vacuums much more often near the walls than in the center), and the lack of modes does not allow for efficient cleaning until the battery runs out of power. Advertisers Karcher argue the opposite.
In reality, the robot does not need to complete cleaning before the end of the battery charge, so the question of the efficiency of the algorithm does not matter: even if it goes somehow “wrong” due to the long cleaning time, it will be in time.
Answers on questions
In this section, we will try to consider the questions that usually arise for readers of reviews of robotic vacuum cleaners.
Do wires interfere with it?
One of the most frequently asked questions concerns the ability of a robot to overcome clusters of wires. All habrayuders know that there should be no such clusters, that the wires should be either carefully packed into cable channels, or replaced by wireless data and energy transfer devices altogether. However, in real life, everything is not always good and for some potential users the issue with wires is still relevant.
RC 3000 perfectly overcomes the accumulation of wires. In real conditions, I have never seen a robot stuck in a bundle of wires — it either moves them or doesn’t go there at all (if we are talking about very thick power cables). Implied default in such matters pieces of twisted pair and power supply cables of household appliances are not difficult for this robot:
Of course, you can choose a configuration of wires that the robot can not overcome, but I have not met mention of the fact that the wires have become for someone a real problem when operating this device.
What about scattered things?
Another object of great public interest is the question of how this robot will behave if it encounters the scattered things of the owners. Let us leave the questions of upbringing, discipline, and the admissibility of having garments on the floor beyond the scope of this article and try to answer the question in its most common formulation: “ And if my socks are scattered on the floor? What will happen to the robot in this case? ”
The tests showed that
However, the robot for socks is also not useful:
How hard is the plastic of the case scratched?
Subjectively, not very much. At least, much less than the glossy plastic Ecovacs Deepoo D76. This is how a robot looks after sixteen months of daily use in a rather complex (cast iron batteries, old furniture with protruding bolts, etc.) environment:
The glossy strip is scratched a little stronger (I think it's not so much about the properties of plastic, but about the location: after all, the robot often touches obstacles with this protrusion):
What happens if there are more than one room?
In short, nothing bad will happen. The web came across reviews of users of this robot - owners of complex apartments with many (five - six) rooms of up to two hundred square meters. According to them, the RC 3000 copes with the cleaning of such premises. The manufacturer claims that in nine hours the robot manages to clean a room of one hundred thirty-five square meters.
Honestly, before the purchase, I myself was not sure whether the robot could handle the three-room apartment. It was especially hard to believe that he would squeeze into the kitchen:
There were also doubts about the ability of RC 3000 to clean up the space behind the bed:
However, my fears were in vain: due to a very long working time (I usually turn it on before leaving for work), the robot manages to visit all or almost all the rooms. Yes, he does not build a map of the area, he can go three times to the bedroom and only once - to the hallway, but in the end, he will visit the entire apartment.
Over time, I discovered an unexpected (for myself) pattern: the less often a robot enters a room, the longer it spends in it. If you think about it, this is quite logical: the room into which the robot rarely calls in, most likely, has a complex passage configuration (narrow doorway, presence of obstacles, etc.), which prevents the passage of the portal in both directions .
For example, if the entrance to the kitchen is partially obscured by a dishwasher (as it was at one time with me), the robot will go there relatively rarely, but, once drove in, it will clean this room until the battery runs out of power (or the container ), because the probability of leaving the room is rather small (but sufficient to reach the base located in another room).
When the cleaning time is long enough, difficult and easily accessible rooms are cleaned about equally well, but in different ways: the robot rarely cleans the first, but carefully, the second often, but not for too long. The effect, I repeat, is the same.
To illustrate the movement of a robot in a room with a large number of obstacles, I’ll give a record of the RC 3000 trip to an intentionally littered hallway. As you can see, he rather evenly “pokes” into the walls and doors, if they were open, the robot would have called in other rooms:
In general, during the operation, I met a robot in the most, it would seem, unexpected places, in which he, I thought, definitely would not stop. So with the robot's “penetrating power” everything is fine.
Does the robot work under the furniture, do the legs interfere?
If the robot fits under the furniture, it cleans under it. If it does not fit, it does not remove. It's simple. Difficulties begin when the gap under the furniture (in my case - it was a wardrobe and a nightstand in the kitchen) is approximately equal to the height of the robot. Sometimes a vacuum cleaner with overclocking enters and gets stuck, not being able to go back.
A few months after the purchase of this device, I raised all the “problem” furniture with legs. Now the difficulty for the RC 3000 is only the space under the bed, where the leg, the carpet and the plinth are very unsuccessfully combined: the robot rests on the leg, gives back and stern climbs onto the plinth:
In the video, he successfully left the bed, but in life he does not always succeed. Not too often, no more than once every two weeks, but it happens.
I have stairs in my house. Would he fall?
The robot is equipped with elevation sensors. As soon as the surface ends under the sensor (for example, in the case when the robot moves down from the step), the motors stop and then the vacuum cleaner changes direction. In other words, he himself will not fall:
The problem may be children or animals dropping a robot from a ladder, but this is no longer relevant to the design of this device.
And one more remark about exploitation in a house with several floors: I came across several stories in which the authors bought one RC 3000 per floor. According to them, it is easier and cheaper than making a smooth descent, which the robot could ride.
What does the cleaning process look like / how effective is it?
Under normal conditions, the algorithm works as follows:
- Before leaving the house, you open all the doors, collect all things from the floor, start ( yes, manually, the RC 3000 does not have a start timer ) of the robot;
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From my own experience I know that such a description does not satisfy the curiosity of a person who chooses a model of a robotic vacuum cleaner for purchase, therefore, I consider it appropriate to offer a small visual illustration.
For testing purposes, a small area of ​​the carpet was fenced (carpets were dauntingly difficult to clean, the more interesting), deliberately contaminated with rice (imitation of medium-sized garbage), wet flour (imitation of sticky / oily dirt), AA batteries (imitation of large objects, for example , parts of children's toys) and threads (not quite a full imitation of hair / wool), in coins:
Then Karher RC 3000 was placed in this area and turned on in the endless mode. The cleaning took about fourteen and a half minutes, after which it was interrupted. During the cleaning, the robot destroyed the restrictions several times, escaping from the playpen organized for it, but I think it did not affect the result:
As you can see, it has become noticeably cleaner. Flour and coins removed completely, thread - almost everything. Some rice remains (especially at the site boundaries) and batteries:
Robot-harvested rice and the only remaining thread:
I am sure that if the robot were given more time (offhand, five to seven hours), he would clean everything, except for the batteries.
How effectively cleans the base?
First, it should be noted that the real effectiveness of the base is much lower than the manufacturer claims. Manual cleaning of the brush and the unit itself is sometimes necessary, despite the presence of a base.
Self-cleaning robot can not cope with the following types of pollution:
- Strong, wrapped around the brush thread (here it can be attributed, and long hair, but on the brush lingers much less)
- Down from old carpets (sooner or later it becomes clogged between the bristles of the brush);
- Gluey mud (once my RC 3000 drove into a puddle of Movil , I did not keep track of it).
- Large objects (for example, pieces of PVC tile or tile)
Everything else, in principle, cleared well. The general rule is this: the main thing is that the brush is clean, then the garbage will be removed from the main container in the normal mode. Unfortunately, it is the brush that gets contaminated first.
In practice, about once every two weeks I have to clean the robot manually. Without this, it is removed quite a short time (the container is filled), often on the base than on the floor.
Why, with all the shortcomings of the RC 3000 self-cleaning system, I chose this particular model? Basically, for two reasons. Firstly, without a base, I would have to clean it every day (which is much more often than once every two weeks), and, secondly, self-cleaning works even worse for competitors (I personally compared Doooo D76, I read about Navibot-S).
To illustrate, we turn to the data obtained as a result of the previous experiment. After the cleaning was completed, a certain amount of garbage turned out to be in the robot: The
robot was allowed to the base, successfully loaded the garbage into it, but did not become much cleaner in the tank:
However, after ten cleaning cycles (approximately eight to nine hours in normal mode), almost all of the contents of the robot container went to the base:
Is it true that the RC 3000 needs no maintenance?
Not.This robot, as well as all similar devices, needs regular maintenance: cleaning the main brush from threads, hair, lines, wires, etc.
Like other models, the RC 3000 needs to be cleaned: remove debris from it, wipe the exterior of the case, monitor the cleanliness of the wheels, etc.
Unlike, for example, iRobot products, which do not have a base for unloading a robot, with regular use of the RC 3000, it will also be necessary to maintain the base, for example, to change bags in it.
How much is one bag? Is it possible to save on bags?
In conditions of rather heavy pollution (old molting carpets, bicycles, etc. - see description), one bag is filled in about 1.5 - 2.5 months. In the network there are terms from two weeks to six months.
Where to install the base?
Choosing the location of the base is very important for the RC 3000. The ratio of the cleaning / recharging time spent by the robot and the probability of successful parking (and hence, the continuation of cleaning) depends on where you put it.
The fact is that the robot in question does not have any means of orientation in space. He can neither "see the base on the map" nor "remember where he went and go back the same way." Instead of these (undoubtedly, the best) actions, the robot moves erratically in search of a base.
To facilitate this task for him, the base sends an infrared beam. As the robot crosses this beam, its actions become much more meaningful. It stops moving erratically, orients along the beam and moves to the base:
The general rule of thumb for positioning the base is as follows: place it in such a way that the probability of the robot crossing the beam is maximum:
If you do not follow this advice, the robot will search for the base for a very long time (the probability that it will not find it at all is sufficiently small; batteries, which the robot keeps on searching for itself, is very large, and allows sooner or later to find the base in even the most hard-to-reach places).
The exception to this rule is the operation of a simple layout in the room (for example, in one large room). There, on the contrary, the beam should be directed so that the robot would look for it longer in susceptibility mode (see the next item), thereby increasing the time of harvesting. However, since even the “dormitories” have several distinct sections (entrance hall, room, bathroom), in practice it is better to use the rule formulated above.
How long does the cleaning last?
The robot has four modes of cleaning duration:
- Three hours, three o'clock;
- Six o'clock;
- Nine o'clock;
- Endless cleaning (until the user stops or the device itself does not break);
Modes are set on the base (and not on the robot, as in other models). If the cleaning time has expired, then after the next cleaning / recharging, the base will give the robot a signal, and the robot will not go anywhere, remaining close to the base:
During operation, the RC 3000 operates as follows:
- The robot clears the first twenty minutes after leaving the base in any case;
- The second twenty minutes the robot continues cleaning, but becomes sensitive to the base signals. If it crosses its beam, the cleaning stops (the brush and the turbine are turned off), and the robot travels to the base;
- If before the expiration of the second twenty minutes the robot has not yet visited the base, it goes into the power saving mode (the brush and the turbine do not work) and starts to randomly move in search of the base beam. Once the beam is found, the robot tries to park to the base;
- If at any of these stages the garbage container fills up or the battery charge drops significantly, the robot will go to the base regardless of how long it has been there;
- On the basis of the robot spends 15 - 25 minutes.
In practice, my RC 3000 cleans up forty minutes, after which it takes about fifteen or twenty minutes at the base. Thus, during the absence of the average office worker at home, the robot will make 8 to 12 flights around the apartment.
Conclusion
Despite all the shortcomings of the RC 3000, I am very pleased with this robot, and I consider it to be the best option for users who are more interested in the vacuum cleaner robots than the “robotized” component.
In general, this model is much closer to household appliances in the form in which we know it, and not to the Lego constructor (like iRobot) or a toy for adult geeks (like Neato XV-11). It can be said that this device is boring: there are no opportunities for upgrades, no remote controls, no entertainment functions. This robot simply cleans your apartment (or office) every day without demanding attention. In this regard, it is similar to Unix system daemons: it drives in the background, does not interact with the user, rarely requires maintenance and does something useful.
It seems to me that this is how home-robots should be - easy to use, minimal in design, reliable in operation. And the function of meeting the needs for creativity and entertainment, in my opinion, it is better to transfer to completely different devices.
On the effectiveness of robotic cleaning, you can say the following: RC 3000 removes worse than you. A person with a rag (vacuum cleaner, paragenerator,
But he will collect dust and debris from the floor. When cleaning the robot (or changing the base bag), you will be surprised at how dirty you were.
Under the spoiler - photos of garbage that you may find unpleasant
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RC 3000 solves only one problem, but does it well. It really completely eliminates the need to perform any action for the daily maintenance of clean floors. And that I like him.
Links
- The official RC 3000 page on the website is available from the manufacturer.
- The RC 3000 manual is available on the manufacturer's website.
- RobotReviews. The most informative, in my opinion resource dedicated to vacuum cleaning robots. I recommend exploring both the site and the forum ;
- Saubermänner: 24 Saugroboter von 200 bis 1150 Euro im Test . Test of motion algorithms for various vacuum cleaning robots;
- Robotsaldetalle.es . One of the best sites about robot vacuum cleaners. Contains a large number of videos of motion tests and the effectiveness of various models of cleaners. The main value lies in the fact that all tests are conducted under the same conditions using the same methodology. This allows you to correctly compare different models of vacuum cleaning robots to each other.
- Forum IXBT. The iRobot Roomba theme in three parts ( 1 , 2 , 3 ) contains a lot of information about other models. His first review of the RC 3000 (with reference to the views of other users), I leave it the same.
Ps Thank Nitatunarabe for help in illustrating the article.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/163637/
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