In Every Home

Appliances for Cooking, Cleaning, & Care

Rise of the Robots: Robotic Vacuums Now a Floor Care Fixture

Traditional vacuum cleaner with a hose, nozzle and brush versus a modern circular automated low profile unit, high angle view on a shaggy white carpetDo robots live among your appliances? There’s a growing chance at least one type does. Sales of robotic vacuums and cleaning robots are expected to grow from $981 million in 2013 to $2.6 billion by 2020. And the innovations keep coming. New features like cameras, voice controls and improved navigation have taken robotic vacuums from a novelty to a fixture in floor care.

So what does one need to know before turning over vacuuming duties to a robotic partner? Robots have come a long way in floor care, but they’re still widely considered a supplement to, not a replacement for traditional vacuums. They can’t yet climb stairs, but they can sometimes reach areas that are hard to get to with traditional vacuums, like deep beneath furniture. They’ll take longer to clean a room—about 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the robot and the size of the room—but they can also do it on their own, whether or not you’re there to supervise.

Red robotic vacuum cleaner and smartphone. Smart appliances concept. 3D rendering image.The hundreds of robotic vacuum models on the market offer different features. They use different methods to find their way around a room, using laser, cameras or infrared sensors. They may have different work capacities or perform better on certain surfaces. Some models use lithium ion batteries, others use nickel metal batteries.

Are you ready to welcome a robot into your home? Follow these tips to create a more hospitable habitat for your new cleaning companion:

Break down barriers: Take a look around the area you’re going to vacuum, and remove any potential obstacles. Even a sock or something smaller on the ground can interrupt cleaning, particularly if the robot tries to vacuum it. Remove any items that could get stuck in your robot’s rollers and cause an error.

Remove the cords: Just as you would with traditional vacuums, make sure the area being cleaned is free of plugs and power cords that the robot may try to vacuum.

Keep it confined: A robotic vacuum goes where you allow it to go. Close doors that might lead it to another area that does not need to be vacuumed, or use the technology features to keep it within a certain range.

Welcome it home: Many robotic vacuums will automatically make their way back to their charging station when their power starts to drop. Put the charging station in an area that’s easy for the robot to access.

Keep the robot clean: Keep your robot’s sensors and other navigation tools free of debris, as it can interfere with navigation. Empty the robot’s dustbin after every use. Make sure filters are clean and replace as necessary.

The next robotic revolution

Robots are slowly making their way beyond vacuuming into areas like mopping and air purification. Automation is becoming part of appliances, with many new models incorporating voice controls and the ability to adapt to our habits. Are there any tasks you would be happy to hand off to a robot? Let us know in the comments!

CES 2017: Speak up!

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Most people are accustomed to interacting with their appliances through the push of a button, turn of a dial of flip of a switch. Soon, that’s likely to change to you simply telling the appliance what you need. You might talk directly to the appliance, but a number of systems at CES 2017 channeled the interaction through robots or an existing tool like Amazon Alexa.

A conversation with an appliance won’t always be one-sided. A robotic vacuum cleaner could politely ask you to move your leg if you’re standing it its way (It can tell that you’re a human.) And the system might remind you when it’s time to re-order groceries or perform another task.

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Some appliances will also have the ability to adapt to your habits. An air conditioner could learn when more cooling power is needed based on how many people tend to gather in a room at a particular time. Your clothes washer might have the capability to add new wash cycles if none of those initially included with the machine no longer fit your lifestyle.

CES 2017 also showed that some refrigerators are becoming serious multi-taskers. Some of the models on display included touch screens to allow you to label food, track expiration dates and order new food when you need it. They’ll also provide entertainment, like music, since families tend to gather in the kitchen. Don’t worry—they’ll still keep your food fresh!

CES 2017: It’s all about lifestyle!

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Day 1 of CES 2017 left the clear impression that connected features are changing appliances at all levels, from the largest major appliances, like refrigerators, down to the smallest personal care appliances, like your electric toothbrush.

From the biggest refrigerator down to the smallest personal care item, connected features in home appliances are allowing the product to take on a greater amount of work associated with their core tasks. Rather than just serving as a tool to help you accomplish a task, they’ll give you the information and guidance you need to increase the quality and accuracy of whatever you’re trying to do, whether you’re preparing a meal or cleaning your teeth.

That means less work for you, but it could also mean a better result. For example, your oven and refrigerator could work together to suggest meals to prepare based on what you already have in the house. But it could also go a step further, like an oven automatically adjusting to the cooking time and temperature necessary for the recipe, becoming a welcome assistant for busy home cooks.

It could mean more accurate microwave cooking, as scanning the packaging of a prepared meal will give your microwave the information it needs to heat up the meal, without any input from you.

It could also mean more effective and accurate oral care through an electric toothbrush that, in addition to brushing, maps your mouth, monitors your brushing pressure and shows you via your smartphone if you’re cleaning the right places.

Manufacturers are stressing the impact of connected appliances on consumers’ overall lifestyle, including their potential to save significant amounts of time and remove some of the guesswork from tasks like cooking. Many of the appliances at CES 2017 are being shown as part of larger “smart home” suites to show how they work together and can be incorporated into everyday life.

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Keep following for more updates on the appliance innovations at CES 2017. And follow AHAM on Twitter @AHAM_voice for news straight from the show floor.

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