Looking at the development of the sweeping robot industry in recent years, it feels quite like watching a big show. You sing, I will appear, brands move forward alternately, and various new technologies have also appeared one after another. This is actually a good thing. Only with multiple brands competing with each other will the industry move forward as a whole, rather than staying still. At the same time, due to competition, pricing will be restrained, which will be of great benefit to consumers. Interpretation of new technology of
sweeping robot:
First, make a unified explanation of several new technologies and new functions that have emerged in the past two years. Understanding and understanding these functions will help better understand specific products and not miss the pitfalls when purchasing.
① Automatic mop washing: The earliest sweeping robots only had the function of dry sweeping and vacuuming, which met the needs of consumers. Later, sweeping robots developed the function of mopping the floor. With mops, you naturally have to face the problem of cleaning. At the beginning, you could only clean them manually. Last year, some models of sweeping robots appeared, and through base station support, the automatic cleaning of mops was achieved.
can be determined that any robot brand that takes the lead in joining this function is undoubtedly an excellent seed player in the industry and belongs to the power of the first echelon. Among the products that support self-cleaning of mop, the cleaning mode pioneered by Stone G10 is the most prominent. It adds a bracket that can be reciprocated left and right to reciprocate, and a high-speed rotating roller brush is embedded on the bracket. It can be cleaned in any position while moving. The cleaning process is that the mop is motionless while the brush moves, simulating the movement of a person picking up the brush and brushing the mop, but the person who picks up the brush is "Flash", and the hand speed is 600 seconds per minute.
Other products that automatically wash mop are added to the base station to add some fixed convex points, and the mop is rubbed and squeezed by itself to achieve the purpose of cleaning.
This cleaning action can be imagined as a bear rubbing his back on a big tree, rubbing the object without moving, and the mop moves by itself.
Compared with the stone, the cleaning structure of the stone has more technical content and the cleaning effect is more guaranteed.
② Automatic dust collection:
Sweeping robots all have dust boxes built-in, but due to the size of the robot, the capacity of the dust box is not too large, usually only about two or three hundred milliliters, and it needs to be cleaned frequently. This cleaning process requires direct hands-on action, which can easily cause dust and induce discomfort in the nasal cavity.
There are some models of sweeping robots that add the automatic dust collection function, transferring the dust in the dust box to a larger dust bag for temporary transfer and storage, achieving the goal of not having to overturn dust for a long time. At the same time, the design of this dust bag is not easy to cause dust, and does not need to contact dirt when cleaning, which is both clean and convenient. As shown in the figure below, it is the dust bag structure of the Stone G10S Pro.
③ Automatic drying: If the mop remains moist for a long time, it is easier to breed bacteria. Some high-level sweeping robots have added a drying function, which can allow the mop to dry quickly.
Some of the models are blow-dryed using room temperature air, and the other part is drying using high temperature air. The room temperature air is relatively slow, but the structure is simple and stable; the high temperature air will be faster, but the price will definitely be higher. At the same time, if it is not handled properly, there will be a risk of accumulated heat and spontaneous combustion.
④ Automatic water supply and drain: Connect the robot through the pipeline to automatically inject clean water and automatically discharge sewage, further realizing the freedom of lazy people. This connection method has some limitations on environmental requirements. If the pipeline is not pre-buried during decoration in advance, the most important thing in laying open pipes is to consider aesthetics. Currently, there are not many products with such functions, only a handful of them. I know that the Stone G10S Pro and Yunjing J2 are implemented by adding automatic water loading and drainage modules, and they are both optional and non-standard.
⑤ 3D structured light: Traditional LDS distance measurement method is more suitable for use in open spaces. In narrow areas and areas with many obstacles, because the signal is reflected many times, it is easy to cause misjudgment of distance and bumping in directions.The understanding of the technology of 3D structured light may be called "bino-vision". This is a bit similar to when we close one eye and look at the world with one eye. Although we can also see the scene, our judgment of distance will be less sensitive and the sense of space will be significantly reduced. By looking at it with both eyes, you can accurately judge the distance and three-dimensional shape of the observed object. 3D structured light is to add a binocular module to the robot, and use two sensing signals to map the shape and distance of the objects in front to achieve accurate obstacle avoidance.
⑥ AI obstacle avoidance: is implemented based on 3D structured light. The object characteristics are calculated based on the surveyed obstacle body contour data, and compared with the model library. It is determined that the object may be shoes, tables and chairs, sofas, data lines, etc., and a corresponding obstacle avoidance strategy is made. With such predictions, it is not easy to damage useful items that fall on the ground by accident. The picture below is a scene recognized by the Stone G10S Pro in a cleaning task. It accurately identified various obstacle types and marked them with different icon patterns on the map.
Regarding AI obstacle avoidance, many products actually claim to have it, but in actual testing, you will find that there is still a difference between the top and bottom. Sharing a few videos of robots with different models encountering data cables is really "you can't just watch advertisements, but you also need to see the efficacy." When the Stone G10S Pro encounters the data cable, it will turn, avoid, and get close carefully.
Ecovacs X1 and Zhuimi W10 Pro both drag and drop data cables.
⑦ Camera function: Adding a camera to the sweeper is not only used for image recognition to assist navigation and positioning, but also to enable remote calls, monitoring the room, and observing the activity dynamics of pets or children at home. The picture below is the camera interface of the Stone G10S Pro, which can control the direction like the remote control car , and can also record the video to unlock the fun video shooting function at an ultra-low angle.
⑧ Automatic sterilization: Usually sterilization is performed using silver ion . Silver ions have been proven by major industries and have good sterilization effects. Some high-end models will be added. In the current sweeping robot industry, there are several brands that are relatively top brands, each with many fans. I have filtered out the most top-end products of each company so far, and used King to see how the functional configurations of each product are. The
table is an overview that facilitates quick decision making. The following content adds a detailed extended explanation to each product to establish a more three-dimensional understanding.
The first model: Stone sweeping robot G10S Pro
has very complete functions, almost all of the above contents include: automatic mop washing, automatic dust collection, 3D structured light, AI obstacle avoidance, camera, silver ion sterilization, are all standard equipment, and automatic drying and automatic loading and draining through optional accessories.
Stone G10S Pro products have several unique modules, which is also the fist technology that Stone Technology maintains its leading position in the industry. Feature 1: Sound wave vibrating flat mop. The floor is wiped with high speed vibration, and the floor wipe rate is as high as 3000 times/minute. It also has the logic of intelligent lifting and lowering.
Feature 2: Floating all silicone main brush, bristle-free structure, surface shape created by using the principle of Archimedes spiral curve, which is not easy to wrap hair. The suction force at the suction port is huge, with a foot of 5100Pa.
Feature 3: 2.5L large-capacity dust bag, dust once every 60 days.
Feature 4: The rolling brush structure of automatic washing of mop can not only clean the mop, but also clean the base station itself.
Feature 5: Supports 3D maps and Matrix maps. Navigation and obstacle avoidance are silky and accurate identification of obstacles. There is also a fill light on at night.
Feature 6: Camera calls. Supports remote control of four-dimensional direction keys to realize visual fixed-point cleaning.
Second: Ecovacs sweeping robot X1 Turbo
This sweeping robot has functions: automatic watering, automatic mop washing, and support silver ion sterilization and cold air drying through optional accessories. If it is a similar OMNI model, it also supports automatic dust collection.
The mop of Ecovacs is in a double disc form, and the floor rub frequency is 180 rpm. The main brush is an integrated structure of rubber hair. These two structures are relatively common in the sweeping robot industry. At present, only Stone Technology has taken a different approach and has come up with its own unique solution.
glue brushes are afraid of trouble and entanglement, which is inevitable. Families with pets face regular cleaning work.
After years of improvement, the disc mop is relatively competent for daily cleaning. However, when faced with extremely stubborn stains, there will be weak force, and there will still be residual marks after the wipe is wiped. On the one hand, this is because the mop is not rubbing the floor frequency, and on the other hand, it is caused by uneven stress on the disc. The center is strong and the edges are weak, and some areas of clean and weak areas will exist. Looking at the animation can reveal the residual marks after cleaning.
The obstacle avoidance planning method used by Ecovacs X1 is its newly developed AIVI 3D technology, which is essentially a fusion of visual recognition (camera) and physical detection (lidar). Supports 3D map mode, which makes it clear at a glance about the placement of homes, making it more convenient to observe and control cleaning actions. It has a built-in camera, which can call remotely and monitor indoor conditions.
Ecovacs X1 supports password-based calls, which is one of its functional advantages and has certain bonus attributes. The third model of
: Zhuimi sweeping robot W10 Pro
Zhuimi W10 Pro's product structure is relatively similar to that of Ecovax X1, with disc mop and rubber wool brushing.
also has a camera on the body, but it is currently only used as an obstacle avoidance assistance. The video viewing and call functions have not been activated yet. The OTA will be upgraded and opened by the end of this year.
Zimi uses 3D Tof sensor + AI vision to comprehensively avoid obstacles. It is acceptable to perform in open spaces, but it is a bit difficult to encounter narrow spaces and is prone to random collisions. A more obvious feature of Zhuimi W10 Pro is that the body is designed as D-shaped and has 2 right angles, so it is easy to get in place when encountering a corner.
Its suction force is 4000Pa, which is slightly lower than that of Ecovacs and stones, and will show varying degrees of performance in actual cleaning. Zhuimi W10 Pro also supports voice interaction, but is not built-in like the Ecovacs X1, but is expanded through Xiao Ai. The Zhuimi brand is also one of the members of Xiaomi's ecosystem chain, and it is not surprising that it has this function.
The fourth paragraph: Yunjing sweeping robot J2
Yunjing J2 supports functions: sweeping and mopping independently, automatically washing mop, drying at 45℃, and automatically loading and draining water through optional kits. I didn't want to use this one for review, and it felt a bit like the bottom.
Yunjing does have many fans, but the indisputable fact is that its upgrade and iteration is too slow. This is its second-generation product, and its practical experience is obviously insufficient. Obstacle avoidance is still using relatively traditional technology, with no structured light and no cameras, which is already outdated compared to the first three products. The suction power is only 2500Pa, which is also at the bottom.
does not have a main roller brush module, and the suction vent is a simple suction vent. From a personal perspective, the most unacceptable thing is that sweeping and mopping is divided into two independent modules, which must be manually switched to complete the homework. This is equivalent to sweeping once and mopping once. Not only does the time double, but someone must intervene in the middle, which is obviously incompatible for the "lazy people".
But Yunjing J2 first launched the automatic water supply and drainage module, which can also be regarded as an inspiration for the industry. This is still something to be praised. Furthermore, Yunjing's double-disk mop is not a standard circular shape, but has been changed to a triangular structure, which strengthens the floor rubbing force between the double-disks. This is what major manufacturers who use circular-disk mop should learn from.
Overall, the horizontal comparison of these four strongest machines of major brands will make the Stone G10S Pro more prominent, with balanced performance in all aspects and has its own unique thinking implantation. In the double-disc mop machine, the Ecovax X1 leads with an absolute advantage, followed by the Joymie W10 Pro. Although Yunjing J2 has its own wonderful ideas, at this point in time, it is necessary to launch products with structured light and cameras immediately so that they will not be left farther and farther away.
