Review of popular models of robot vacuum cleaners from Neato
The excitement around the robot-vacuum cleaners makes you look more closely at the models on the market. Especially interesting are the offers from Neato, a brand unfamiliar to the Russian consumer. It's time to fill this gap.
Content
Brand History
Creating a company, management initially relied on technology that would reduce the time spent on cleaning so that it could be spent on more favorite activities. The choice fell on robotic vacuum cleaners - a real trend of the time. The firm itself has appeared in 2004 in the city of Newark Silicon Valley. Her "father" was Giacomo Marini, the founder of Logitech: in 2004, he decided to invest in robots that were able to clean the floor with the same efficiency as a man does.
Employees have proven to be effective in developing people - for example, Mike Perkins (the creator of Voodoo laptops from Hewlett & Packard), Garmit Greewall from Logitech, and others. A cohesive team helped the brand to enter the American market first, and then the Neato robot vacuum cleaner also subdued the Europeans (France, already in 2011).
In the Russian Federation, the official representation appeared only in 2014, but some users have already managed to order similar products for themselves through Internet channels.
Features of brand models
The year 2010 brought global fame to the brand thanks to high marks from PC Magazine, CNet, Cool Hunting. Also among the awards was the CES award, which is one of the most prestigious for home appliances.
According to user feedback, vacuum cleaner robots really correspond to their name “neato” - “cool” in colloquial American English.
In practice, there is an explanation for such popularity - the models have distinctive technological features that make cleaning much more efficient. The device is different from the others by body shape - it is made square in front in order for the technique to fit snugly to the corners.Survey platform on the device rotates 360 °, which helps to fully observe the space.
When moving, the device continuously scans the surrounding space, recording a room map into the memory. For navigation, the robot uses infrared laserSafe for children and pets. The diameter of this beam is only 2 mm, but it can even be reflected from the fabric (which means you should not worry that the vacuum cleaner will start to chew the curtains).
Thus, the consumer who decided to buy the device will have to deal with a real robot, which can analyze the changes that have occurred and create a new cleaning trajectory, rather than driving along the same algorithm from the instructions. But, of course, the manufacturer introduced its own differences to each model.
Top 3 models of Neato robotic vacuum cleaners
Since the manufacturer has directed all its efforts to create just robotic vacuum cleaners, it has the ability to diversify the range. In addition to navigation and design, each top model has something to interest a potential user of its products.
Neato Botvac Connected
Neato Botvac Connected price of 63 000 rubles can be called the most expensive and flagship model of the company. He deserved all these regalia thanks to his interesting possibilities.
Outside, the manufacturer did not change the “non-atomic” design - from the back of the semicircle the vacuum cleaner flows smoothly into the front square. Navigation is carried out LIDAR radar. All collisions are damped by the soft bumper in front with a built-in sensor. The model is made in black plastic. Below it is rough and not afraid of scratches, and the top is glamor polished.
Power is supplied by a Li – Ion type battery (14 V), designed for a power of 4200 mA h. It will take about two hours to fully charge the equipment.
Cleaning schedule can be installed on the top touch panel - which is interesting, you can choose it for each day of the week. There are also special command buttons: “Home” for the device to return to the base for a long time and “Spot” for local cleaning. The user can control the robot from his smartphone, after downloading the application (available for both IOS and Android).Connecting to a cloud server occurs via Wi – Fi.
The brush at the robot vacuum cleaner is similar to a bristle drill with a length of 273 mm. After the "acquaintance" with it, the garbage is sucked in by the air flow lifted by a motor with a power of 120 watts.True, this creates a noise of 70 dB. In the kit there is also a brush with ribs - it is reasonable to use it in order to collect clumps of wool, which is especially important for long pile carpets. And the propeller brush helps to tighten the dust under the body. Dust is retained by the High Performance filter, and dirt is collected in a container. When loaded, the user will receive alerts from the robot about the need to remove the dust collector.
We summarize the advantages:
- availability of wireless communication;
- laser navigation;
- powerful battery life;
- soft banner to prevent collisions;
- turbo and side brushes;
- latest generation filters.
The device has only two minuses:
- big noise when working;
- very high price.
Neato Botvac D85
The D85 model is cheaper than the flagship - here the cost comes to 45,000 rubles due to the lack of a Wi-Fi module, powerful batteries and modern filters. The robot vacuum cleaner has a horseshoe shape already familiar to us with a body in two color interpretations - black on the top and white on the bottom. The LIDAR navigation sensor is also located at the top, infrared sensor from mechanical collisions - on the front bumper.
The device can work autonomously for up to 90 minutes.It already uses a 12 V battery with a capacity of 3600 mAh. In this case, the device should be fully charged for at least 3 hours.
With Neato Botvac D85, it is possible to configure cleaning in two modes - full and local work: everything is controlled from the touch panel. Schedule really make up for every day.
The device is retracted using a brush with a length of 273 mm - this part has an improved design that prevents the winding of hair and hair. There are also paddle brush siliconewhich cleans well on smooth surfaces and knocks out dust from carpets. Helicopter brush Attached to the side with a magnetic bracket and actively sweeping dust from all angles.
Among the benefits:
- navigation sensor;
- good battery;
- improved brush;
- the presence of a silicone paddle brush;
- the presence of a soft banner.
Compared with the flagship, you can highlight the following disadvantages:
- lack of wireless control;
- battery class lower than the above model;
- The same situation with filters.
Neato Robotics XV Signature Pro
The younger brother in this company is Neato Robotics XV Signature Pro. The cost of this option - from 32 000 rubles, which for this price category is the only offer with room cleaning planning.
The design is represented by a standard black semicircle with a display, control buttons and a navigation tower. There are gray color accents-inclusions. At the front there is a concave element that helps to transport the device and free the container from debris. Movable bumper is missing here, but collision is prevented optical sensors.
A battery with a capacity of 3200 mAh (90 minutes of continuous operation) is responsible for the power supply. The device must be left to fully charge for 3 hours. Control is carried out using buttons. All information can be seen on the display. The model retains the possibility of programming the execution of daily work at a specified time.
In this embodiment, there are still no side brushes - this affects the quality of cleaning carried out along the baseboards and in the corners. Deficiency eliminates rotating turbo brushwhich perfectly copes with cleaning of carpets and floor coverings from wool and hair. The air blown into the room is cleaned with special anti-allergenic filters (replaceable version).
To prevent the assistant from entering the forbidden places, his movements can be limited to the magnetic tape glued to the floor, which comes in the kit.
Pros:
- independent compilation of the plan (as in previous models);
- 1.5 hours of continuous work;
- design features for easy transportation;
- special filters;
Now for the cons:
- no side brushes;
- no front banner to mitigate the blow.
So all three options are intended. for dry cleaning. This generation of home appliances can, indeed, be called intellectual due to constant scanning and data analysis, which helps to navigate in space. Constantly rewriting its algorithm, the device provides efficient cleaning: 98% of the collected debris from the smooth surface and 85% from the carpet. Among the minuses only the price, but it does not confuse those users who agree only on the most excellent result.