Show us your robots! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: djos
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 03, 2017, 09:59:26 am
content: G'day all, I thought it might be fun to see what robots everyone has (bought and built).I'm a big fan of cleaning robots (i'm lazy) but I'm planning on building a little arduino bot soon to hopefully amuse myself and little daughter.Anyway here's my current bot collection:Workshop iRobot Roomba 560Upstairs Neato XV11 and spares bot (both work)Downstairs Neato BotVac 80Kitchen Floor washing iRobot scooba

author: djos
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 04:51:25 am
content: So apparently I'm the only one around here with a robot obsessions?

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 04:56:16 am
content: Quote from: djos on February 03, 2017, 09:59:26 amHow do you find them? I have large areas of solid wood floors and thought about getting one to do "maintenance" cleans to reduce the level of sand and dirt that can scratch floors in between my regular cleaning routine.

author: djos
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 05:12:37 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on February 10, 2017, 04:56:16 amThe current range of Neato BotVac's are excellent, I use the rubber Blade-bar style brush for my hard floors and it does a great job. I dont have timber floors in my current house (tiles) but my previous house was all timber floors in the living, dining, kitchen and hallways and it really did a great job. no scratching of floor either.The Scooba is awesome for washing/scrubbing tiled floors or sealed hardwood but no good for floating floors - its limitation is it can only do one room at a time (eg kitchen).

author: djos
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 05:12:46 am
content: Finally got around to converting the U.S. Roomba power brick to 240v. It's just 3 components and the power plug.

author: jimdeane
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 06:32:08 am
content: No pics at the moment, but my wife and I finally jumped into the robot vacuum world last summer when I saw the Anker Robovac 10 hit $199 and had very favorable reviews. It is apparently a branded version of the iLife V4. The iLife version is cheaper, but has a shorter warranty, so pick your poison.We have been very happy with it. Our wood floors look polished. We're planning to get another one or two so that we can have bedroom, living/dining room, and upstairs more routinely cleaned.

author: djos
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 06:51:40 am
content: Quote from: jimdeane on February 12, 2017, 06:32:08 amInteresting, I've Not come across those before, a quick Google suggests they are Roomba equivalent with no room mapping functionality?I usually refer to them as bounce bots,as long as you restrict then to a single space they do a pretty good job. my garage / workshop floor has never been so clean since getting the Roomba so I can't complain about the bounce bot system not being effective.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 06:54:48 am
content: Well that's the other thing I need to consider. My place is split level so I'd need to get two units if I wanted complete coverage.I also have a large rug in the dining area with tassels on either end so whatever I end up getting will need to cope with those.

author: djos
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 07:18:07 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on February 12, 2017, 06:54:48 amJust buy 2seriously tho I eventually bought a second bot because I got sick of lugging the bot and dock upstairs. You can get Neato XV21's for $244 USD on Amazon right now and they are an excellent bot with full laser guided SLAM mapping and a powerful vacuum combined with a 1200 rpm brush. Incredibly reliable and serviceable too, they are an upgraded xv11 chassis with a nicer paint job. oh the power supply is universal too, just need to replace the power cord.Regarding tassels, there isn't a robot on earth that can cope with those, imo you'd be better off upgrading to a new rug - just accidentally spill some really nasty cheap red wine all over it and apologise by taking her shopping for a new robot friendly rug.

author: jimdeane
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2017, 08:45:47 pm
content: Quote from: djos on February 12, 2017, 06:51:40 amYep, no room mapping, so they behave like most of the earlier or lower end Roombas and run around with varying patterns of behavior. Long run, edge hug, short run turn, etc. We have found that it does an excellent job of cleaning the complete room floor in our 20' x 9' living room, including maneuvering around furniture.

author: djos
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 07, 2018, 05:15:35 am
content: Poor old WorkShop-Bot finally broke down, not too surprising as the Garage is a pretty harsh environment!Anhoo, I took the gearbox apart and it was trashed!So I gave it a thorough clean, put in a new set of gears and new grease.I also had to add some metal skids to the bottom of the Cleaning Head Module as the plastic ones had worn away, as had the wire cage protecting the brushes (I dremeled the remaining stubs off).and now WorkShop-Bot is fully operational again!