It all started with a vision to create robots to perform household chores as intelligently as humans—something to make complicated processes simple or something to allow humans to transfer menial tasks to appliances that could do it for them. In 2010, NEATO launched the very first smart, laser-navigating robot vacuum [1], something that would pave the way for other companies to follow in making robot vacuum cleaners smarter and more efficient in cleaning.
Laser navigation is a state-of-the-art option for free navigation, which, simply put, means the navigation of a certain object without the need for wires, tapes, and reflectors. This is done by mounting a rotating laser scanner on top of an object and allowing it to accurately measure angles and distances in relation to itself [2].
Laser navigation has become quite popular in various forms and for various reasons, such as in LGVs (laser-guided vehicles) [3]. Over the past few years, however, laser navigation has become a very useful addition to household appliances, mainly robot vacuums, as brands try to find ways to make their appliances work smarter and more efficiently.
Robot vacuums that are equipped with laser navigation are more advanced in terms of technology. They can easily sense their environment, with the use of LiDAR (light detection and ranging) [4]. Not only can they operate in total darkness, but they are also able to map a room precisely. They are more efficient when it comes to cleaning and are less prone to bumping into furniture. They are also faster and take less time to make their cleaning rounds in a room, due to their high-precision sensors that let them plan out the best cleaning map around a room.
According to our comparison of robot vacuums, the best robot vacuum with laser navigation is the Roborock S6. This table shows the 10 best robot vacuums with laser navigation.
To help robots navigate their way around homes as they pick up the crumbs, dirt, debris, and sometimes even pet hair, from your floors and carpets, robots need to be equipped with something that will help them “see” their way around furniture, walls, and other obstacles.
Not all robot vacuums are built with laser navigation, however, as they can be very costly. Other robot vacuum cleaners are equipped with sensors, cameras, and various kinds of technology to help them navigate around your home. Some of them are as follows [5]:
Robot vacuums that are equipped with cameras allow the robot to take shots of their surroundings and create a map of the house. While they can be pretty accurate in terms of recording and navigating, they are not as accurate as robots equipped with an LDS (Laser Distance Sensor) nor are they able to work in the dark.
Some robot vacuums come with sensors, such as gyroscopes and accelerometers, which is a somewhat cheaper technology used to measure distances and objects around your house. Nevertheless, their measurements are not as precise nor is their map very accurate, or their navigation as good as robot vacuums with laser or camera-based technology.
Robot vacuums that have built-in infrared sensors allow the robot to sense when it is about to approach an object or a ledge, in order to keep it from bumping into things or falling off stairs [6].
Some robot vacuums have more than one of the sensors or technology listed above. A lot of the robots use one kind of navigation technology (e.g. stereoscopic camera or gyroscope) but include a combination of infrared sensors in the sides and bottoms of the robot to help it detect objects and stairs [7].
In our comparison of the 37 various robot vacuums, 49 % are built with laser navigation. The chart below shows the distribution in terms of navigation methods for various robot vacuums.
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Klaus Bachmann
Author and Creator
Hi, my name is Klaus Bachmann, and I am the author of Reoverview.com. I have been working with household appliances for several years now. I publish unbiased comparisons, based on user reviews, expert reviews and test results. Hope you like the website.
Best regards, Klaus.
