Advantages: simple controls, voice signals in American, effective collection of dust and small debris, excellent coordination in space, recognition of dirt and types of surfaces, the ability to get out of the wire and behave appropriately in difficult situations, coordinators, remote control with radio control, programming for the week ahead.
The disadvantages: too simple filtration system, the lack of a microfiber cloth and the function of disinfecting the floor with a UV lamp, the buttons in English.
POWER: 33 Watt.
NOISE LEVEL: 36 dB.
FILTER: fine filter at the outlet.
CONTROL AND INDICATION: sensor for high contamination, sensor for contact with the restriction of movement, button fixing the dust container, the ability to program the schedule of cleaning on a weekly cycle, remote control with programming function.
AWARE artificial intelligence system. American-speaking audio signals, a system of sound signals at the beginning and end of work, in case of problems, the system of light indicators in case of problems and to determine the state of battery charge.
Button with backlight and color indication, buttons for programs selection and programming of cleaning schedule on the body.
PROGRAMMES AND MODES: automatic cleaning, Spot program cleaning in a given area , DOCK program search for the charging base and parking demonstration mode when holding down the button .
CHARGE TIME: full reconditioning charge up to 16 hours, normal charge 2.5 hours.
CLEANING TIME: about 45 minutes for an area of 20-25 sq. m. m. One battery charge lasts for several up to four standard cleaning cycles.
CONSTRUCTION: 3 wheels, plastic dust canister with capacity of 1 liter, side paddle brush, rubber squeegee, rubber brush, fluffy brush.
COMPLETE: charging base, remote control, 3 motion restrictors āvirtual wallā with backlighting function, optional set of brushes, 2 microfiber cleaning cloths, cleaning brush.
DIMENSIONS: 340Ć95 mm. WEIGHT: 3,8 kg.
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURER: USA China.
WARRANTY: 1 year.
THE WORK
Quality of cleaning. According to the manufacturer, the AWARE artificial intelligence system uses dozens of sensors to monitor the robotās environment, sending up to 67 pulses per second to monitor the cleaning process and quality.
The robot itself calculates the route, recognizes the type of floor covering and chooses the appropriate cleaning mode, detects the dirtiest areas and cleans them longer and more thoroughly. When cleaning, the robot moves in different trajectories: along the walls, in a spiral, crosses the room, returns to the dirt accumulation.
And moving along the walls, it hits the baseboards and collects dirt there the side brush came to an open section of the bookshelf standing on the floor and wiped the dust off the bottom of the spines of books .
In a large area it can go over the same place several times, at first glance not noticing the debris nearby, but then it finds it there was no case where it left visible dirt in the action area .
Good at picking up puffs of dust and small debris, but very fine dust like scattered flour is not fully collected, as there is no wipe to wipe the floor, and the suction power and efforts of the rubber squeegee to remove such dust is not enough.
As for the recognition of the type of flooring, it is difficult to say anything: the robot behaved identically on linoleum, hardwood and tile. Height of 9,5 cm allows to drive under the furniture with low legs.
Behavior in difficult situations. The manual says, āit recognizes stairs and height differences and prevents falls. Well, we have a ladder, so we checked and found that the robot actually stopped in front of it.
The vacuum cleaner has a system to untangle entangled wires: its brushes stop spinning and the wheels ride in the opposite direction to help get untangled.
The vacuum cleaner has coped with the āambushā in the form of the part of the antenna wire not fixed to the wall with dignity: it was rescued once in 15 seconds, the other time it took more time, but it won.
If the robot does get tangled up in the wires and canāt get free, it will stop, give signals and not waste energy from the charge to check, we tangled it in five wires, which was contrary to the instructions .
The robot didnāt even notice the 1-cm-threshold and rode over it with confidence. But, when it was surrounded by four legs of the chair, the poor guy could not get out, we had to save him and put the chair away after two minutes of the robotās efforts to regain freedom.
No return to base after local cleaning program, otherwise the robot returns confidently.
Noise level. Model makes a pretty loud noise. However, having the experience of comparison, we can call the noise level average it can be louder .
Note that the model is fully independent, has an excellent navigation system, knows how to behave in difficult situations, has a programmable cleaning schedule function and is designed to clean in the absence of owners.
GENERAL ERGONOMICS
Dust Collector. It is extractable by pushing a button, easy to put back, and hygienic to clean: the dust trap opens and the dust is shaken out in a bucket, but you can not avoid contact with dust at all.
Cleaning the brushes and other parts is not a problem, especially if you do it regularly. Long hair and cat hair wrapped around the brush can be easily removed in a few seconds.
Changing and cleaning filters. The fine filter is inside the dust box, taking it out is of course a nuisance. Filter compartment and filter itself cannot be washed, can only be cleaned with a brush or regular vacuum cleaner. The filter needs to be replaced every 2 months if the robot is used daily.
Extra convenience. The set includes 3 coordinators of movement, acting as a āvirtual wallā and Lighthouse mode helps to coordinate the work of the vacuum cleaner when cleaning several rooms, making sure it goes to the next, only having finished with the previous one . In a two- or three-bedroom apartment itās not worth overpaying for.
OPERATING ERGONOMICS
Remote control. Large, round, handy. This radio remote control is the only one in the test. Its advantage, in contrast to IR remote controls that it acts without regard to obstacles ā walls or furniture.
If the robot beeps e.g. tangled in wires , you can even invite it to come to you from another room at the push of a remote button, this will help it cope faster.
Display and control panels. No display, it is replaced with big buttons with clear markings and voice signals. The controls are very simple, you only need to look in the manual once to understand the labels on the buttons.
And if you need to understand the display system, you have to keep the manual handy and remember how many times the vacuum cleaner blinks and what color the central button glows, and then look for correspondence in the user manual.
Sound signals. The sound signals are melodic and pleasant, and the voice signals are in American, the robot says the error number and briefly explains what needs to be done.
Can you please share your experience with the iRobot Roomba 581? How efficient is it in cleaning different types of surfaces and how well does it handle obstacles?