Patent ID: 8387193

Claim:
A surface treatment robot comprising: a robot body having forward and rear ends; a differential drive system mounted on the robot body and configured to maneuver the robot over a cleaning surface; at least one drive motor carried by the robot body and driving the differential drive system; a proximity sensor responsive to a potential obstacle forward of the robot, wherein the drive system is configured to alter a heading setting in response to a signal received from the proximity sensor indicating a potential obstacle; a cliff sensor responsive to a potential cliff forward of the robot, wherein the drive system is configured to alter the heading setting in response to a signal received from the cliff sensor indicating a potential cliff; a debris collector housed in the robot body and configured for collecting dry debris from the cleaning surface; a liquid applicator housed in the robot body and configured to dispense a liquid onto the cleaning surface while the robot is moving in a direction of forward travel of the robot and suspend dispersion of the liquid while moving in a reverse direction of forward travel of the robot; and a scrubber housed in the robot body and engaging the cleaning surface, the scrubber comprising a driven circulating web trained about rollers rotatably coupled to the robot body, the web driven to rotate in the direction of forward travel of the robot, thereby aiding forward propulsion of the robot; wherein the treatment robot has a mass of less than about 10 kg, there is between about 1 cm and about 10 cm of cleaning width for every 1 kg of treatment robot mass, and the treatment robot has an average drag force of 30-50% of the thrust provided by the drive system treatment robot.