What is the Rolls Royce of robotic vacuums at the moment?

[herald]

As in the top of the line, the creme de la creme..

(price not being an issue)

[yvesdm3000]

As in the top of the line, the creme de la creme..

(price not being an issue)

A roomba with shielded bearings, navigation like the neato and with self-emptying bin like the Karcher.

-Yves

[Fraggboy]

I would say Kärcher Robocleaner RC 3000. It's the closest robot that comes to fully autonomous. You still have to empty the bag from the base station every so often.

Shielded bearings don't last unfortunately. That's what iRobot placed in the black CHM. You will want to go with sealed bearings. The Roomba with a modded CHM, and the IR LED's updated would be a good choice, but you still have to empty it out after every run (Depending on how dirty the area it cleans, you could get a couple to 3 runs before emptying).

[warlock79]

Kärcher RC 3000 for sure... It has the best built quality and design.... Hey its made in germany and its the BMW among robovacs..

[sageman]

yup agree there

[adebisi]

Kärcher RC 3000 by 1000000000 miles

I can't see the point of having a vac that you have to empty every few mins when you have bought it to make less work than normal - seems to be counter productive. Bring on some Kärcher killers soon my baby is getting old and I am not sure how I will live without him if I can't get a new one - although he is still going like new but needs some new batteries.

[Parker]

To me, any robot that needs attention after every run or two is just a toy.

The Electrolux Trilobite is very well built (Sweden) and low maintenance. It feels like a Rolls Royce. Navigation is just average (adding Neato navigation could be a big improvement).

Unfortunately, Trilobite production was recently stopped.

[kiwimorgs]

Kärcher RC 3000 for sure... It has the best built quality and design.... Hey its made in germany and its the BMW among robovacs..

Yep wot he said

[djos]

If I could combine the Karchers self cleaning system with a Neato XV-11 (fully debugged with added side brush) that would be the ultimate bot imo.

However despite its flaws I believe the Neato XV-11 is currently the best RoboVac on the market.

[spons]

Karcher...easily but more the Mercedes of robotic vacuums, Rolls royce being inefficient and a little over priced

[djos]

The Karcher is a one trick pony, it can't clean a whole house, it's one claim to fame is it's self emptying dock.

[Fraggboy]

The Karcher is the only robotic vacuum that is as close to fully autonomous. Neato doesn't even come close. Where is your support that it can't clean a whole house? It's just like the Neato if it doesn't have any battery left. It will return to the base and go back out and finish cleaning.

[sageman]

if its put on continuous or like 8 hours or something i should think most houses are in its reach

[djos]

The Karcher is the only robotic vacuum that is as close to fully autonomous. Neato doesn't even come close. Where is your support that it can't clean a whole house? It's just like the Neato if it doesn't have any battery left. It will return to the base and go back out and finish cleaning.

I may be wrong but as I understand it the Karcher is no smarter than a Roomba and has no mapping abilities? If that is true then how could it possibly know that it has cleaned an entire house?

[Fraggboy]

You are correct it doesn't have any mappings, thus it relies on going over the house multiple times. I'm sure it uses some algorithm like Roomba (But not verified).

But, I haven't heard a lot of people complaining about the Karcher not cleaning their whole home (I have only come across 1 post that it didn't cover a small section).

There is still too many issues to give that title to Neato IMHO. But, I give credit that they are doing their best to fix the issues.

[djos]

You are correct it doesn't have any mappings, thus it relies on going over the house multiple times. I'm sure it uses some algorithm like Roomba (But not verified).

But, I haven't heard a lot of people complaining about the Karcher not cleaning their whole home (I have only come across 1 post that it didn't cover a small section).

There is still too many issues to give that title to Neato IMHO. But, I give credit that they are doing their best to fix the issues.

you are correct that Neato still has some bugs, it also lacks a side brush which is a minor annoyance but on the whole it is the most efficient and complete vacuum robot on the market.

The Karcher is expensive too at almost 4 times the price of the Neato.

[Fraggboy]

I don't doubt the Neato has great potential. As long as they listen to their members and impliment what they want to see/fix it could surpass the Roomba.

The Karcher on the other hand works great. All of the bugs have been worked out and they might have done some small revisions/etc. Granted, it might not map the room, but their owners haven't complained about that issue. If it did have serious 'issues', we would be hearing about them.

It is very expensive, but one member put it that it does cost more, but it has lasted longer than their other robotic vacuums.

[djos]

I don't doubt the Neato has great potential. As long as they listen to their members and impliment what they want to see/fix it could surpass the Roomba.

The Karcher on the other hand works great. All of the bugs have been worked out and they might have done some small revisions/etc. Granted, it might not map the room, but their owners haven't complained about that issue. If it did have serious 'issues', we would be hearing about them.

It is very expensive, but one member put it that it does cost more, but it has lasted longer than their other robotic vacuums.

That is all true however to call the Karcher the "most Autonomous" cleaning robot available I think is extremely optimistic considering it lacks a genuine 100% floor coverage mapping system.

Im basing this on the wikipedia definition of the phrase "Autonomous Robot":

Autonomous robots are robots that can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. Many kinds of robots have some degree of autonomy. Different robots can be autonomous in different ways. A high degree of autonomy is particularly desirable in fields such as space exploration, cleaning floors, mowing lawns, and waste water treatment.

I would say the Neato with it's SLAM mapping system is more Autonomous than a Karcher due to knowing where it is, where is has been, and where it is going to go next. imo it's a little like the DARPA autonomous car challenge where these attributes where required to successfully complete the challenge.

PS. im not taking pot shots at the Karcher, i'm sure it does a good job, I just don't believe it is the pinnacle of Floor Cleaning robotics (which is what the question "what is the Rolls Royce of robot vacuums?" asking).

[Fraggboy]

Hands down, the Karcher (And some other new robotic vacuums) are more autonomous than the Neato. My definition of "Rolls Royce" of robotic vacuums are more autonomous, rather than features. If I don't have to do maintenance on a robotic vacuum after it runs is what I'm looking for.

Isn't that what we are after? I am. I want a product that does what its supposed to do with very little intervention. If it has mapping, great. If it doesn't have mapping but it still cleans the home well, great!

[djos]

Hands down, the Karcher (And some other new robotic vacuums) are more autonomous than the Neato. My definition of "Rolls Royce" of robotic vacuums are more autonomous, rather than features. If I don't have to do maintenance on a robotic vacuum after it runs is what I'm looking for.

Isn't that what we are after? I am. I want a product that does what its supposed to do with very little intervention. If it has mapping, great. If it doesn't have mapping but it still cleans the home well, great!

Really, Im curious to know which ones? Im also curious to know how emptying your bin once a week instead of daily equals more autonomous than a robot with a full SLAM implementation?

Btw, it's worth noting that the only other robots with mapping systems (Samsung, LG & Evolution) dont seem to display the same ability as the Neato to map and navigate an entire house - I've seen user reports indicating that the optical mapping systems are easily confused and the Mint's are limited to rooms with NaviStar Cubes in them.