Hi, robot!

I’ve taken another small step into the 21st century: I bought a robot vacuum cleaner. My old cordless vacuum (a hybrid handheld model with a wide base and detachable long handle to make it a floor vacuum) hasn’t worked well in recent years, and I had to admit to myself that I was never going to get into the habit of vacuuming as regularly as I should. So I finally decided to follow my cousins’ example and get one of those hockey-puck-shaped robot vacuums.

I was somewhat concerned about whether an automated vacuum might have problems with things like my wi-fi router, which I have to keep on the floor due to my apartment’s inconvenient layout requiring me to put the computer desk on the opposite wall from the phone jack. But I found a model that purported to avoid knocking things over due to its infrared sensors and such. It’s a black plastic puck with three wide rectangular infrared “eyes” on its front bumper, and having grown up in the ’80s, I kind of feel they should have a red light sweeping back and forth in them and going “whoo-whoo.” It’s not as good at evasion as advertised, since it does bump into things before stopping and turning around, but at least it didn’t knock the router over, just nudged it a bit. (The front bumper pushes inward, which I guess is for both detecting and softening contact with objects.)

The vacuum comes with a remote control for which batteries were not included, and I didn’t have any functional AAAs. Fortunately, it can also be operated by a phone app, which proved easy to download and set up. (The app instruction booklet contained a QR code for downloading the app. I gotta admit, that’s a handy invention.) The app not only works as a wi-fi remote control, but tracks the battery charge (which depletes fairly quickly with use) and the brush and filter usage so you know when to replace them. I got batteries in my grocery trip this afternoon, and the remote also works just fine, though it has fewer functions.

Unfortunately, it seems the poor little guy was built to rove in wider spaces than my cluttered apartment, and often seemed to get confused trying to navigate around things in auto mode. This relatively basic model apparently doesn’t have the ability to map a room, just to wander around at random and remember what areas it’s already covered, or so the online reviews claimed. It actually ended up revisiting a lot of the same areas and giving less attention to others. I had to take manual control sometimes with the app or remote to get it into certain areas. I don’t know if it’ll be practical to schedule it to run unsupervised, as the app allows you to do.

Still, it’s certainly an improvement over my old vacuum, more powerful, easier to use, and easier to clean after use, since it doesn’t have a big roller brush to get tangled up with my long hair. (Although the instructions do say the forward caster will have to be de-haired at times.) It seems to work well so far. I used the old vacuum twice before the robot came so that it wouldn’t be too overworked on its first day (as I said, I don’t vacuum nearly often enough), but it still picked up a significant amount of hair, dust, and debris, and a moderately lesser amount the second time I used it. (I did it once this morning with the app and once this afternoon with the remote, both to test out the two control methods and because I knew the floors could use the extra attention.)

It even has a homing function to find its charging base and “climb” onto it automatically. (It doesn’t recommend you do it manually since it wouldn’t align right. Although there’s also a port on the robot’s side where you can plug in the charger cord directly.) I wasn’t sure at first where to put its charger in my compact apartment; the only place I could think of where it wouldn’t get stepped on was just a little too far from a power outlet, and in retrospect would’ve been too enclosed for its navigation. I finally thought of the space under my DVD shelf, which was stuffed with old audio and video cassette tapes I rarely if ever used. I moved the videotapes to a cardboard box that fits snugly under one of the plastic tables I use as speaker stands, and moved the audiotapes’ box to an adjacent shelf, clearing up a cozy little nest for the robot, right next to where I kept the old vacuum anyway. The instructions say you should ideally leave a couple of feet clear around the base on all sides so the robot can find it easily, and my robot did have a little trouble finding the base at one point, since it seems to default to turning counterclockwise even when it should turn clockwise. But that’s another case where I can take manual control to put it close enough to the dock. Indeed, as I wrote this, I realized that what I should do is just turn it off to empty the dust receptacle when I’m done, physically place it in front of the dock, and then turn it back on and hit the homing/recharge button.

In thinking about what to do with my old vacuum, I realized it might be worth keeping it around to use as a handheld for under the couch cushions, or to get to areas too narrow for the robot. So I decided to move its charging thingy to another outlet so I could keep its battery charged for occasional use. It’s got both a connector that goes into the vacuum and a side slot for a spare battery I don’t have anymore, so I thought I’d just use the side slot for the battery and store the old vacuum in the closet. But the contacts in the side slot were badly corroded. I had to spend some time applying vinegar, paper towels, and a nail file to scrape off enough corrosion to make a connection. As it happens, I actually have two vacuums of the same model — the result of a bad spur-of-the-moment decision a dozen years ago when I wasn’t sure if I needed to replace the vacuum or just the battery and made the wrong choice — but though the duplicate charger appeared to have pristine contacts, I couldn’t get it to work at all.

So anyway, the robot’s not perfect — in particular, it has trouble rolling onto the area rug on which my computer chair rests to protect the carpet underneath, since that rug tends to curl up at the edges — but it’s nice to have a better, easier-to-use vacuum at last, and kind of a fun, futuristic one at that. Though I intended it as a labor saver, I’m feeling an urge to pull out my fridge and the adjacent block of drawers and send it to work back there. But… not today, I think. (Indeed, the very act of writing that sentence compelled me just now to go out and try it, but I quickly rediscovered how heavy the fridge is and decided it could wait.)

Now, if only I could get a robot to do my dishes and laundry…