Re:How to stop a robot vacuum from getting stuck on the laun...
by DANK_YACHT on Monday May 30, 2022 @11:44AM
(#31560213)
Roombas could definitely be better. Mine gets stuck all the time. The reason I keep using it, however, is that it cleans a lot of stuff prior to getting stuck, so it still feels worth it to me.
The expensive robots added lidar sensors for better navigation, but the basic obstacle sensing mechanisms hasn't really improved: front/side sensor, bumper, + cliff sensors for falling (and these last ones aren't 100% foolproof either).
A front camera doesn't really help these robots IMHO (roomba, cough). Nice gimmick, but unless you reach 99% reliability, you'll still see your robot squishing dog poop, falling, wedging itself into the sofa..
I guess it's a nasty tradeoff between robustness, service lifetime, and cost.
I bought a cleaning robot a year ago (totally recommended btw), and I also went the route to adapt the furniture and placement of things to help the robot.