About seven years ago, we bought a robot vacuum from Neato. We actually used it up and downstairs, with two docks. It worked fairly well, though to use it downstairs, you really had to invert all of the dining chairs (that's 12, including the counter), which was a deterrent to using it. The reason you had to do this is because, despite having a spinny laser or something to map the surroundings, it mostly ran into everything over and over. We used it less and less over time, and then its battery died. I replaced it, but also learned at that point that the company went out of business, and they would be shutting down their servers eventually. That's the problem with "smart" stuff... it stops working when it can't phone home. Then a few weeks ago, it died hard. It shut itself down.
I still like the idea of a vac bot, so I looked around to see what was hot. The tech reviews had all of the usual suspects, but various online forums and Reddit were all about this Roborock brand that I had not heard of. That seemed odd, but I suspect many reviews only happen if the vendor gives the writers a sample. I started looking at the suction measurements and such, and Roborock seemed pretty great. Then one of the better midrange models, normally $800, was half-price (they go well over a grand), and that seemed like a good deal.
The software is pretty great. The app allows you to "rope off" parts of the map and delineate rooms, so you can choose specific areas to do. Most importantly, it doesn't bang into stuff all day, especially when it knows where stuff is. The device itself uses rubber brushes, which is interesting, and they seem to do a really good job. The dust chamber could be bigger, but when it does get overfilled, it struggles to empty into the dock. It uses disposable bags in the dock, which isn't great, but not the end of the world. Overall, I'm really impressed with its performance. I do wonder if it will have longevity, because it needs the cloud service. I mean, I've had the same upright Dyson for 20 years, and will probably have it my whole life.
Our carpet sure sucks though. The Pulte builder-grade crap looks like a dozen people have lived here for two decades, and it's just the three of us over seven years. It needs to be replaced, but there's kind of a with a weird economy I'm not sure now is the time. That, and when do we downsize and move out? I assume that better carpet should at least look good for five years.
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