Neato Botvac

[Wing Nut]

Which also means it will finish a given size space in even less time, one of the main conveniences of systematic navigation from random methods. People need to use the spaces being cleaned.

Doing a decent job of vacuuming, all in one wider pass edges included and unattended, surely means it's not only more convenient, but even more efficient than an XV-??, and way more than a Roomba. This point that was misunderstood by the Wall Street Journal's tech reviewer that someone mentioned a few posts back.

After a rundown of the specs on the new Neato Botvac, the WSJ's journalist went on to say robovacs were “not the most efficient unless you have an open floor plan and not too many pieces of furniture”. I'd agree that a Roomba is far from efficient, bouncing back and forth across the same spot (maybe) in each room for ages and needing help to do a whole house, but that surely can't be said for the smarter 'bots?

[invenio]

I didn't notice the hair thing was such a big issue for the Neato. I do sometimes pull out some hair from the brush as my fiancee has long hair. Otherwise that's about it. As for the spending $12 per week on the bot, I think the most important thing with Neato's is to get the extended warranty. At walmart I paid $28 for a 3 year warranty. If there is any major problem, it's going back. $300 per year seems pretty outrageous considering that is more than the actual Neato costs new, and they often sell refurbished ones for $150. I would look into an extended warranty plan if it's really costing that much overhead every year.

[Doomsday]

When I bought mine a year ago it was $359 new for the xv21. I dont particularly like refurb electronics, I have never had much luck with those. As for hair issues, if it was just human hair it wouldnt be that big of deal, its the cats and dogs combined that cause the belt motor to have issues.

[invenio]

No pets here, I'm sure it was cause my unit a lot of problems if I did.

So basically you have to pull all the hair out every cleaning? Is this just maintenance you do, or is it actually causing damage to the unit?

[Kolenka]

No pets here, I'm sure it was cause my unit a lot of problems if I did.

So basically you have to pull all the hair out every cleaning? Is this just maintenance you do, or is it actually causing damage to the unit?

The real problem is when hair gets caught in the belt and pulled into the unit itself. It tends to jam the gear over time, which causes the motor to draw more power or causing the brush to not turn at all.

Cleaning the brush isn't a big deal, but the exposed belt is a design problem. I actually got a Signature Pro to jam this way in under 4 months! No pets and only one long-haired individual.

[Doomsday]

It takes it a while. Usually anytime I clean the brush, so a couple times a week. The hair gets in between the motor and the gear that drives the belt and eventually getting in the motor from the drive shaft.

[invenio]

I've been using mine for a year. Can you see this from just looking at it from the outside or do you have to take it apart?

[third_deg]

Which also means it will finish a given size space in even less time, one of the main conveniences of systematic navigation from random methods. People need to use the spaces being cleaned.

Doing a decent job of vacuuming, all in one wider pass edges included and unattended, surely means it's not only more convenient, but even more efficient than an XV-??, and way more than a Roomba. This point that was misunderstood by the Wall Street Journal's tech reviewer that someone mentioned a few posts back.

After a rundown of the specs on the new Neato Botvac, the WSJ's journalist went on to say robovacs were “not the most efficient unless you have an open floor plan and not too many pieces of furniture”. I'd agree that a Roomba is far from efficient, bouncing back and forth across the same spot (maybe) in each room for ages and needing help to do a whole house, but that surely can't be said for the smarter 'bots?

The reason the author says this is even "smart" robots have to avoid the obstacles. All of that time turning around matters. The laser allows a square front robot to be less likely to get stuck, but that square front still needs to be swung around, and it takes time.

We designed a robotic lawn mower prototype (I can talk about it as all of the patents are released) that was this exact layout. Square front, round back, cutting system up front just like the brush in the Neato. Every time the robot would turn, it would leave uncut grass in it's wake. So we had to make a seesaw turning action to try to cover this. I've noticed Neato has started to do similar things in corners. This adds up in terms of coverage time. So yes, even smart robots are more efficient with less stuff to get around. But it's also why Roomba's cleaning system is in the middle. So turning in place does not leave unvacuumed areas (but this requires the side brush to be very effective).

Different compromises...

[Doomsday]

I've been using mine for a year. Can you see this from just looking at it from the outside or do you have to take it apart?

yes you can see it. when you take the brush out, shine a light in the hole where the belt goes, you can see the gear. move the belt back and forth and you would be able to see any hair wrapped around it. It really only seems to be a big issue for animal owners.

[glnc222]

What happened to the USB jack, formerly on this back side?
[edit] my car recently needed a firmware update but it doesn't have a USB jack either. Fortunately there are dealers nearby.

botvac.jpg (10.58 KiB) Viewed 6691 times

[DocBot]

Shouldn't there be a review on this already? I mean I know it's not out till April but you would think the company would give units out to sites like CNET to pre-review these....

[shirgal]

"Very high performance" ..wow to see that next month

"To maneuver reliably around pets, furniture, staircases, and other household objects, our autonomous home robots need fast, predictable response times, and the QNX OS has enabled our engineers to achieve very high performance on cost-effective hardware,” said Mike Perkins, vice president of engineering at Neato Robotics. ”The QNX OS also helped us create a software architecture that can quickly accommodate new features, giving us the flexibility to scale product lines and deliver compelling new capabilities."

[Doomsday]

"Very high performance" ..wow to see that next month

"To maneuver reliably around pets, furniture, staircases, and other household objects, our autonomous home robots need fast, predictable response times, and the QNX OS has enabled our engineers to achieve very high performance on cost-effective hardware,” said Mike Perkins, vice president of engineering at Neato Robotics. ”The QNX OS also helped us create a software architecture that can quickly accommodate new features, giving us the flexibility to scale product lines and deliver compelling new capabilities."

Reading between the lines on that= We can make 10 identical robots and software restrict their features and charge more for each one. lol

[vic7767]

Ya, kinda like cell phone features, computer programs, cars, and just about anything that can be offered in different bundles of features.

[glnc222]

It might pertain to adding hardware for wireless communications, similar to the Chinese demonstration.
Perhaps QNX is better at real time device control than the Linnux they were using, or has some software it supports they want to use instead of doing their own.

[overdose]

When I called neato service, I asked if this BotVac can do a better area coverage.
They told me, better than the XV, no numbers yet.
Since neato saying XV can do about 2000 ft2, and you have to divide by 2 for realistic number, I was suspicious.

All I know, is the battery last about 90 minutes from their test, but no info on number of runs in a single house clean.

[a4refillpad]

All I can say is wow! At last an update that isn't just cosmetic. QNX is interesting, by using a more evolved os the firm can concentrate more on functionality of the code rather than building the entire eco system from scratch as in the past on a skeletal linux disto. In effect it is much simpler to compile an app than to rebuild and bug test a system. It is also likely that they have upgraded the computational grunt at the same time to accomodate, so it will be exciting watching it compute the layout of our homes quickly. We could also expect more frequent updates and possibly more features for advanced users if neato decide to open up the system.
Side brush and more importantly the narrowing of the gap between the main inlet and thewall is fantastic and exactly what we've been asking for in the past.
Having a larger bin partially negates the need for an auto empty function but would be nice if neato has that in the works to create something truely automonous.
Well done neato, can't wait!

[djos]

I'll be very interested to see what improvements have been made to the air pathway from the brush - I've always found a small amount of debris accumulates in my XV-11 due to the vertical throat design.

[a4refillpad]

I'll be very interested to see what improvements have been made to the air pathway from the brush - I've always found a small amount of debris accumulates in my XV-11 due to the vertical throat design.

That was improved on the vorwerk very simply by flattening the intake slightly to remove the little "cup" to hold debris. Imagine a flat slide instead. Very simple but effectively resolves the problem you mentioned. Very possible to be incorporated here too.

[Geezer]

Can someone explain what (if any) are the advantages of the QNX OS over Linux? I have always looked upon Linux as being one of the most crashproof systems around.