This robot vacuum solves the Roomba’s biggest problem: Getting stuck

Robotic vacuum cleaner are practical tools to keep your home tidy with little effort. But They often get stuck or are caught by ordinary household items. And that forces you to get off the couch and investigate – unacceptable. The new Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI from Ecovacs is different. This $ 800 machine is smart enough to identify and avoid potential obstacles.

According to Ecovacs, this is possible due to the T8’s sophisticated navigation system. It is based on information collected by lasers, collision and cliff sensors and an integrated HD video camera. More importantly, the robot has the intelligence to tie all this data together and then interpret exactly what it sees.

So if there is a pile of dirty clothes on the floor, the T8 will bypass it. The same applies to shoes, wires and cords, carpets and oddly designed chairs. At least that’s the theory. And I have to say now that a clever cleaning robot certainly sounds tempting.

How many people am i crouched down to stay healthy at home with my family. I’m not going to lie: the chaos and disorder here are getting bigger. So I was very excited to see if this smarter vacuum could handle the situation or even improve it. That’s how it went.

An eye for anger

At first glance, the Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI looks like many other robot vacuum cleaners. It is round, flat and shaped like a cake plate. A tower protrudes from the top of the machine and houses a rotating laser that drives the lidar navigation subsystem of the vacuum. You will also find the usual selection of cliff and collision sensors that many vacuum cleaners have.

What distinguishes the T8 is its look. Robotic vacuum cleaners with lenses are not new. They have had many models for years, including iRobot Roombas and previous Ecovac Deebots. Technically speaking, these products have optical sensors, not cameras. Its main purpose is not to take realistic pictures. They take photos to navigate while moving and use algorithms to mark walls, ceilings and other reference points.

The T8 has a 720p HD camera instead. With this high resolution, the robot can actually see and avoid obstacles. And at the moment my house is full of these pitfalls. At any time, children’s shoes, toys, books, paper, as you call it, are piled up; I also like hardwood floors and deep-pile carpets (don’t judge). The latter in particular can be a challenge even for the most robust vacuum cleaners.

Overloading home, no problem

Getting to know the Ozmo T8 with my home took much longer than I thought. The first step was to set it up in a room with a free outlet (my dining room). Next, the robot should create a map to navigate my house. This is done by trying to cleanse, research and learn over time.

The time required for this depends on the distance covered. Most of the vacuum cleaners I’ve used require two or three cleaning runs to create a floor plan. And if it’s just a room like ours Robot vacuum test roomYou can do this in just a 25-minute cleaning cycle.

It took five cleaning sessions, each between 90 minutes and two hours, for the T8 to completely map the first floor of my house. And like other robots, you can only access special skills after the robot has created a floor plan. This includes functions such as the construction of virtual walls and protection zones, the cleaning of target areas and the marking of rooms.

As soon as the Osmo T8 had its map, its navigation was almost error-free. Obstacles and surfaces that often include other vacuum cleaners, such as B. deep pile carpets and tangled power cords have not brought T8 into phase. These are dangers that even flagship robots like the iRobot Roomba S9 Plus and the Neato Botvac D7 can spot.

After cleaning is complete, the robot app will display a report with the potential problem areas that have been identified. For example, all shoes, cords and carpets that you may want to remove before your next cleaning are identified

There were only one problem with the T8 in eight full cleaning sessions. The machine had somehow encountered a hard plastic squid. The multiple tentacles of the diving toy turned out to be too much for the main brush and stopped the robot in its tracks.

Yes, it wipes too

Another useful feature of the Ozmo T8 is its wipe function. On the back of the machine there is a water tank and an attachment for scrubbing microfiber towels. When both are installed, the T8 can vacuum and wipe at the same time. In this mode, the robot is smart enough to stick to hard floors and avoid carpets or carpets.

Ecovacs even says that wiping removes 99.2% of the bacteria from the floor. I cannot confirm this claim myself. What I can say is that wiping removed greasy or slippery spots, especially in the kitchen.

Glitchy software

For all the capabilities of the Ozmo T8, its mobile app needs work. I have used the software on mine Pixel 3 XL Running Android 10. Every time I started the app cold (not running in the background), it couldn’t open. I was always successful on the second try, but it’s annoying.

The biggest problem was the “Visual Butler” mode. With this feature, you can supposedly drive the robot to places in your home while providing an HD video stream. I could never get it to work and the video connection always expired.

Ecovacs said it was aware of the problem and some units were experiencing a breakdown. The company plans to remedy the shortcoming with an upcoming software update. Frankly, I think it’s a little problem. With so many people stuck at home The demand for remote monitoring of your pets is currently quite low. And there is always the security risk of adding another connected sensor in your home.

More cleaning, less effort

The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI is not quite as incredible as you would expect from its lively marketing. Still, I’m still pretty impressed with how well it gets around and how little it gets stuck. It means less headache for you. That alone is a big reason to take a closer look at this model.

Even the fanciest flagship robotic vacuum cleaners have a lot more problems than they should. I realize that the T8 spends more time chasing dirt than sitting in the corner. And that is intelligence that other vacuum cleaners can imitate well. I’m looking at you Neato Botvac D7 and iRobot Roomba S9 Plus.