Robot Vacuums With Lidar Make Cleaning Easier

A robot vacuum maps its surroundings to help it avoid running into obstacles and efficiently navigate. This technology is similar to the one used in self-driving vehicles and aerospace.

Simple robots come with bump sensors to stop them from scratching your chairs legs or scuffing your paint. However, more sophisticated navigation systems, like lidar navigation robot vacuum and SLAM, are better at avoiding the unplanned. This technology is expensive.

Lidar

The most significant advancement in robot vacuums for the last decade has been lidar, or light detection and the ability to range. Lidar is a sensor which sends laser beams out and tracks the time it takes for them to return. The information can be used to create maps that are precise. Lidar makes it much easier for robots to avoid obstacles and navigate, especially in low-light environments.

Although the majority of modern robot vacuums have some kind of obstacle detection, a lot still have trouble with socks, charging cords and other household items that are easily stuck on the floor. The problem is that a flawed obstacle detection system can really affect the cleaning efficiency of a robot vacuum and lead to lots of wasted time where you need to stop the robovac and manually remove the object it was stuck on.

The top robotic vacuums with lidar technology have powerful object detection abilities that ensure your floors remain clean and free from debris and tangles. Additionally, they are less likely to get stuck on furniture legs or other items that are typical obstructions in narrow hallways and narrow spaces.

Some robots with lidar also have digital keep-out zones which allow you to create an imaginary boundary on the map to prevent the robovac from cleaning certain areas of your house or apartment. This can be very helpful in preventing the vacuum from accidentally vacuuming up the expensive area rug or the cat litter box.

Another advantage of a robot equipped with lidar is its ability to identify stairs better. While the process of getting a robot up stairs is still a challenge -- save for a few pre-production prototypes -the majority of models equipped with lidar are able to make it up and down the steps without difficulties.

Other sensors you might want to keep an eye on include infrared sensors that can detect walls, furniture and other objects to aid the robot navigate. 3D ToF sensor that uses reflection infrared to determine and calculate the position of objects; and cliff sensors which warn the vacuum when it gets close to an edge.

Gyroscopes

Unlike lidar, which uses lasers to scan your area and map it out, gyroscopes depend on rotation sensors that keep the robot from crashing into objects. They're more common on low-cost robots and function as quick-spinning wheel that inform the vac where it is in relation to obstacles. Certain models can also use the gyroscope to create an initial home map, which is helpful for keeping track of your space and ensuring that you clean it up properly.

SLAM which is Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, is another popular navigation technology for robot vacuums. It's available in a variety of price points. This method is used to create a 3-D image of your room to allow the robot to form an accurate map and navigate around it in a logical way. This is a significant improvement over previous bounce-and-bang robots which simply plow through your space, bounce off whatever they encountered until the job was done.

In addition to forming maps, the majority of robots that make use of SLAM can display them on an app so you can see where your cleaner is at any time. You can also set no-go zones as well as other settings based upon the maps. This is especially useful for homes that have a lot of furniture. It isn't easy to locate everything without a map.

SLAM is effective in the majority of situations, however, it's not so effective at detecting small objects, such as wires or cables that might be caught up by the brush that rotates in the vacuum. This is a major flaw because robots are susceptible to sucking up these items, which can cause them to suffer damage.

Fortunately, the majority of robots that use SLAM come with obstacle detection technology, including drop detectors. These sensors stop the vacuum from falling down stairs or large differences in flooring levels which could cause serious damage. Some robots also have cliff sensors, which could be useful if you have an animal that will leap over the robot to reach its water or food dish. These sensors are usually placed on the vac's bumpers. They emit an alert when the vac is within range of something that might hurt it.

Wall Sensors

The ability of a robotic vacuum to navigate around your home is dependent on a combination sensors. A low-cost model could use bump sensors to sense obstacles and a light that rotates to detect walls, robot vacuums with lidar but the top models are more advanced, and include self-navigation, mapping and self-navigation systems that permit saving maps (with some data retaining or sending this information to a company) and digital keep-out zones to prevent robots from accidentally pinging cables or knocking down furniture legs.

Some robots use what's called SLAM, or simultaneous localization and mapping. They will map the room before they begin cleaning and refer to this map during the entire run. This makes them more efficient as they know exactly where they've been, and can avoid repeating the same areas of the room. The maps can be shared and viewed in the robot's app. This is useful for setting the areas to be cleaned or areas that are not allowed to be used.

The other major navigation sensor to look for is the gyroscope. Gyroscopes use spinning wheels or a rapidly-rotating beam of light to calculate the distance between your robot and any obstacles that may be in your home, using the information to create a virtual map the robot can refer to as it moves around your space. Without this technology, robots could become entangled with things like cords and rugs and tend to move around the floor rather than following the edges of rooms.

The best robots are equipped with a variety of obstacle avoidance technologies, such as 3D structured lights, 3D Time of Flight (ToF), bi-cular or monocular vision, and LiDAR. The more technologically advanced is, the more precise and intuitive your robot's navigation will be. This means more thorough, low-maintenance clean ups and the option of setting up zones of no-go areas to safeguard your electronics and other valuables from accidental damage. The most recent generation of gyroscopes which are more accurate and work well in dim lighting, robot vacuums with lidar can even detect a change in the ambient lighting in your home to aid the robot be more effective in its vision.

Sensors Optical

A robot vacuum that is equipped with lidar will generate an interactive 3D map that helps you navigate your surroundings more efficiently and avoid hitting obstacles. It accomplishes this by sending out beams of laser light that bounce off surfaces before returning to the sensor. The sensor measures the time it takes for the laser beam to return. This translates into distance measurements, and allows the robot build up a picture about the arrangement of your room.

In comparison to cameras, which are utilized in some robots to map rooms, lidar is more efficient and more accurate. A robot with lidar could include an "no go" zone feature. This allows you to set up areas in which your robot is not allowed to enter. In our tests we found that the Neato Botvac D8 or iRobot Braava 450 were the two top models using this technology. They come with an application that lets you easily create "no-go zones".

iRobot Duo+, another fantastic option, makes use of LiDAR and sensors to create an accurate map of your home that it can use to navigate. The app also gives you control over the mapping process, so you can refine your home's boundaries when needed.

Other technologies used to improve robot navigation include 3D structured lights, which measure distances by the detection of reflective properties of objects and 3D TOF (time-of-flight) which analyzes an area to determine the speed of light reflections and their direction. Some robots also use binocular and monocular visions to detect objects and avoid them.

All of these sensors work together to aid the robots overcome obstacles in various ways. This is the reason these machines are so convenient. It is important to think about your needs before purchasing a robot vacuum. Consider how much time it will take you to prepare your floors for cleaning, the number of obstacles you'll encounter in your home, and whether or not you'd like your robot to do more. Once you know what features are most important to you, we suggest creating a budget that covers the cost of a robot that has the features you require.