Review of the robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi ("Xiaomi") Mi Robot Vacuum: a confident bid for leadership

Appearance

The design of the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner robot vacuum cleaner is similar to similar vacuum cleaners from other manufacturers, but it also has a number of distinctive features.

The robot has a round shape. Its body is made of white plastic, the surface is matte and uncoated, therefore, it requires care in use and needs additional care. The surface of the lid, which is located on top and covers the main part of the top panel, is also white, but it is mirror-smooth.

Conveniently, thanks to the white color, Xiaomi Mi is clearly visible even in the dark: there is no risk of accidentally stepping on it, and it will also be easy to find it under furniture if it suddenly gets stuck somewhere.

View from above

A convex laser distance sensor (range finder) is located on top of the case, which allows the device to analyze the room where the surface is cleaned, build its map, and also choose the optimal movement pattern. Here, in the upper part, there are two main mechanical buttons for controlling the robot vacuum cleaner: the “power” button and the “home” button.

Rangefinder

In front of the vacuum cleaner there is a mechanical bumper with a proximity sensor to obstacles. The back of the vacuum cleaner is equipped with two contact pads, air blowing, as well as a speaker for alerting the status of the device.

Under the lid of the robot vacuum cleaner is a transparent plastic trash can. The tank is very convenient to use, because its fullness is immediately visible (for this you just need to lift the lid). In addition, for its easy extraction in the case there is a special small protrusion for the finger.

The entire volume of the back of the container is occupied by a HEPA filter. To ensure a tighter fit to the case, the space around the perimeter is glued with a rubber seal. The lower part of the Xiaomi robot is no different from other models of "home helpers".

Bottom view

Comparison criteria

To understand which robot vacuum cleaner is better - Xiaomi or iRobot, it is enough to analyze only 3 components: technical specifications, equipment and functionality. Another less important, but still necessary comparison criterion is design. As a result, it will be possible to understand how good this or that model is. So, let's begin.

Equipment

The delivery set of the 616th Rumba includes a charging base, an instruction manual and a 2-year warranty card. There is no motion limiter and remote control.The manufacturer also did not add accessories for caring for the robot in the box.

The complete set of the Xiaomi robot is not much different, the same “poor”. Of the accessories in the box, you can find a charging base, a power cable, instructions, a warranty card and a brush for cleaning the brush. Separately, you can buy a magnetic tape to restrict movement. As we can see, the differences in the configuration are minimal, but it is worth noting that the warranty for this robot vacuum cleaner is 1 year, not 2.

Total, in this comparison, a draw - 1:1.

Specifications

It is more important to compare the characteristics of iRobot and Xiaomi. Let's make a brief comparison in the form of a table:

As we can see, the characteristics of the Xiaomi robot do not largely prevail over Airobot. The most important thing is to allocate the area to be cleaned, which is several times larger, and the battery capacity. The noise level is slightly less, but the volume of the dust container, the weight and dimensions of Xiaomi are inferior. The Chinese device has the ability to control via Wi-Fi, for which a separate big plus. Total 4:3 in favor of Xiaomi.

Functionality

Well, the last criterion for comparing iRobot and Xiaomi robotic vacuum cleaners is their capabilities, which affects the quality of cleaning. First, let's talk about the Chinese robot.

So, Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner works in two modes: it passes the room along the perimeter and snake.The orientation of the vacuum cleaner in the room is carried out by a scanning laser rangefinder, and this is by far one of the most reliable ways of orientation. A very significant advantage of the model is the ability to control through a mobile application, which is convenient and simple. In addition, the application has the ability to build a map of the room, so you can track the trajectory of the robot.

Xiaomi work scheme

Removes Xiaomi due to the main and side brushes. The quality of cleaning is quite high. The robot does a good job of cleaning the floor, but it can leave small debris right next to obstacles and in corners, but this is already a sore of all robotic vacuum cleaners. We did not meet any particular complaints about the work of Xiaomi.

Now let's move on to the iRobot Roomba 616. It has four cleaning modes: along the perimeter, zigzag, along the walls and perpendicular to the walls. The robot vacuum cleaner has a function of idle wheel scrolling, so Airobot does not get tangled in wires and other things. In addition, a better brush system should be highlighted: 2 main brushes and 1 side brush, which positively affects the efficiency of garbage collection.

Floor cleaning technology

Navigation of the 616th Rumba is slightly inferior to Xiaomi, because. an American robot vacuum cleaner can go through the same place several times + sometimes it looks for a base for a long time. If you buy a separate remote control, of course, the control is simplified. As standard, you have to start the vacuum cleaner yourself, which is not very convenient.

⇡#Working with the Mi Home application

In order to start the process of cleaning the room, just charge the battery of the robot and press the button to activate the automatic program on it, in which the vacuum cleaner independently selects the operating mode. But all settings, as well as manual selection of the cleaning mode, are possible only from a smartphone with a pre-installed Mi Home application. The latter serves as a unifying feature for any Xiaomi smart technology and partners. Finding and connecting the vacuum cleaner to the local network is easy and does not require comments.

The Mi Home application is qualitatively Russified and has an extremely simple navigation. On the main page of the application, you can see the layout of the room (if it has already been drawn up by the robot), as well as the current position of the device in real time (if the robot is currently moving). A little lower are the main buttons with which you can activate the start of cleaning or send the device for recharging, select one of four suction power levels and one of three water supply intensity levels, go to setting up a cleaning schedule, set movement restrictions and select the language of voice messages .

If everything is very clear with the power settings, then the map settings and movement restrictions require comments. On this page, the user can draw a virtual wall on the map that the vacuum cleaner will not drive over. You can put as many such walls on the map as you like. You can also set a rectangular zone with specified boundaries, which the robot will not penetrate during cleaning.

But what Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop does not have is classic modes like cleaning a room around the perimeter or local cleaning in a given place. True, in the application you can set a rectangular cleaning zone directly on the map, but still it's a little different. There is also a manual remote control with which you can clean by pressing the arrow buttons on the smartphone screen.

Also, using the application, you can find a vacuum cleaner in a large house, forcing it to detect itself by voice, move it from one room to another if there are appropriate zones in the virtual room, adjust the volume of voice alerts, and connect text notifications. You can also watch the cleaning history, which is very convenient if the robot carries out its activities during the absence of the owners. Well, on a separate page you can see data on the mileage of consumables, as well as when they need to be replaced.

⇡ # Delivery set

We got a device for testing that is not intended for sale, but has already been used for a long time, which is clearly visible in the consumable components of the robot (cleaning cloth and brushes). However, for testing it is only better, because it becomes possible to more accurately assess the reliability of the device and the durability of its components.

Package Contents Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop

The vacuum cleaner comes in a regular cardboard box with a plastic carrying handle. Inside, in addition to the vacuum cleaner itself, we found a standard set of accessories:

• charging station with detachable power cable;
• water tank;
• floor cleaning cloth.

In addition to the accessories that are separately in the box, the following have already been installed on the vacuum cleaner:

• rotary brush;
• side brush;
• container for collecting garbage;
• filter.

The standard package also comes with a brush cleaning tool and documentation, but there is no remote control for Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop. Its role is played by a smartphone with a proprietary application for management and settings installed on it.

The main competitors of the Xiaomi robot

The considered smart representative of Xiaomi brand cleaning equipment has main competitors with whom it is compared by potential customers before finally deciding on a purchase.

Competing robots include iRobot, Clever&Clean and iClebo brand representatives. They are in the same price range, have excellent functionality and are quite smart for their price tag.

Model #1 - iRobot Roomba 681

The robot from the manufacturer iRobot, like all its developments, is distinguished by a solid assembly. Roomba 681 is able to work non-stop for a little over an hour, but this time is enough for him to cope with cleaning a medium-sized room.

Model specifications:

• battery type / capacity - Li-Ion / 2130 mAh;
• dust collector - without a bag (cyclone filter);
• side brush / soft bumper - yes / yes;
• virtual wall - included;
• cleaning - dry;
• programming - yes, by day of the week;
• dimensions (diameter / height) - 33.5 / 9.3 cm.

This robotic assistant features a large dust container capacity of 1 liter. For robots, this is a very good indicator that allows you to cope with a polluted room without user intervention.

Also, its advantage is in the excellent quality of the cleaning carried out - it cleans the room very thoroughly.

Among the shortcomings, the owners point to plastic, not rubberized, bumpers, insufficient battery life and problems when cleaning sand brought in from the street, the inability to build a map of the room.

Also, iRobot Roomba 681 does not clean well near the base - it tries to get around it as far as possible. Therefore, it should be placed on a less polluted area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe floor. And the price tag is 4.5-5 thousand higher than that of Xiaomi.

Model #2 - Clever & Clean AQUA-Series 01

Another competitor of the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum model is the Clever & Clean AQUA-Series 01 robot. Despite the fact that this vacuum cleaner is sold for the same money, it is able to perform not only dry, but also wet surface treatment indoors.

And its equipment with the function of collecting liquids allows you to launch an assistant in the kitchen / living room, where juice / coffee was spilled or a pet accidentally made a puddle. Already this robot will cope with the elimination of this kind of trouble without consequences.

Working parameters devices:

• battery type - NiCd;
• dust collector - without a bag (cyclone filter), with a capacity of 0.50 l;
• side brush / soft bumper - yes / yes;
• display - yes;
• cleaning - dry and wet;
• programming - yes, by day of the week;
• dimensions (diameter/height) — 34/8.5 cm.

Of the advantages, the owners note the excellent quality of surface cleaning, especially the presence of wet cleaning. Moreover, its implementation is not associated with abundant watering of the floors - the robot performs really wet, not wet cleaning.

Of the minuses, users point to the inability to turn off the voice menu, which sometimes causes irritation.

Especially if the robot notifies about its condition when the owner does not care about this issue. Therefore, during sleep, it is not recommended to run the cleaner.

Model #3 - iClebo Pop

iClebo Pop, as well as the previous competitor, can perform wet cleaning, in addition to dry cleaning. True, its price tag is a couple of thousand rubles higher. It is equipped with infrared sensors that control its movements in a particular room.

Technical features of this model:

• battery type - Li-Ion;
• dust collector / container - without a bag (cyclone filter) / 0.6 l;
• side brush / soft bumper - yes / yes;
• display - included;
• cleaning - dry and wet;
• operating time / charging - 120/110 minutes;
• dimensions (diameter/height) — 34/8.9 cm.

The iClebo Pop robot can be controlled using the remote control supplied by the manufacturer. Of the advantages, the owners point to an excellent assembly, a reliable battery and a long operating time, which is enough to clean a medium-sized room.

Also, users note that with his appearance in the house it has become much cleaner.

Of the minuses, they call the need for regular care of the robot with cleaning of its working elements. I do not like that the comb for cleaning the brush does not cope with its strong pollution and you still have to select devices that will help remove all the debris.

⇡#Specifications

* Average price for "Yandex.Market" at the time of writing.

The Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop robot vacuum cleaner is far from the first model of such devices in the Xiaomi household appliances family. Compared to the previous model, which only has a dry cleaning function, the novelty has increased suction power and a thinner body without protruding elements on top.

The official website of the manufacturer provides a lot of information about the technical characteristics of the novelty. The robot works and navigates in space thanks to fifteen different types of sensors, among which there is also an optical camera with a viewing angle of 166 °, directed upwards. Using this camera, the robot builds a map of the room, recognizes obstacles and makes a route.Also, when building a route, data is used from infrared obstacle sensors that recognize objects at a distance of up to 20 meters, a gyroscope and an additional optical sensor located on the bottom panel of the robot. The latter is designed to help in correcting the route in low light conditions.

The SoC processor with four ARM Cortex-A7 cores operating at a clock speed of 1.8 GHz is responsible for processing a lot of data coming from sensors. The manufacturer does not disclose data on a specific SoC processor model, but claims that it contains two Mali 400 cores responsible for graphics processing.

When building a map, the vSLAM method is used, which allows you to simultaneously plot a route and draw up a plan of a previously unknown space. Similar algorithms are used to operate robots of the middle price range and above. We also note that SLAM algorithms are used on many unmanned vehicles and even planetary rovers, so in a sense, the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop robot is a very distant relative, for example, of modern rovers.

Smartphone control is another key feature of all Xiaomi cleaning robots. Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop does not need a separate control panel - just install the official application from Google Play or the App Store on your smartphone, after which you can connect the vacuum cleaner to your home local network and control the device, program cleaning tasks and configure it.

Xiaomi Mi Robot setup without app

The robot vacuum cleaner from Xiaomi comes without an additional application. However, to take full advantage of the full scope of its features, you need to make sure to read the instructions in this article.

First, connect the base station to the mains and hide the extra cable in a special socket.
The base station should be positioned so that there is a free distance of 50 cm to the left and right and 100 cm to the front.
Now insert Xiaomi Mi Robot into the base station. If the rear contacts are correctly installed, the light on the top panel will flash.
If the light on Xiaomi Mi Robot is constantly on, it means that the battery is fully charged.

Press the button to turn on the robot cleaner.
If the battery is sufficiently charged, the LED will be white, less than 50 percent amber, and less than 20 percent red.

Important: Before first use, remove all cables, secure any loose objects, and block free access to steps to prevent the device from falling.

Functionality

The Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner has twelve types of sensors that make the vacuum cleaner work as efficiently as possible. The robot has excellent maneuverability, and well-designed wheel dimensions allow the device to easily overcome small obstacles in its path. The maximum height of obstacles to be overcome declared by the manufacturer is 18 millimeters, which is a lot.

Cleaning surfaces with a robot vacuum cleaner is as follows. The front side brush of the Robot Vacuum Cleaner sweeps debris towards the center where the main brush is located.The side brush has flexible and resilient leashes, ending with a hard bristle, which allows the brush to retain its original shape after prolonged use and provide high floor cleaning efficiency.

The main brush is designed to direct the collected debris into the dust collector, where it is later retained on the filter.

The presented model of the robot vacuum cleaner has two main modes of operation:

• single cleaning (twice when working in small rooms) - cleaning of the entire accessible surface;
• local cleaning of certain contaminated areas (for this, the robot must be manually transferred to the desired location).

It is possible to organize the work of Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner in accordance with a given schedule using a mobile application.

Smartphone control

The vacuum cleaner will clean the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe apartment until the battery charge is below twenty percent. After that, it will return to the charging station to recharge. Having replenished the charge, the robot will continue cleaning from the place where it stopped before. The number of such cycles in the characteristics is not indicated.

Room cleaning

The cleaning space of the robot vacuum cleaner is limited by using a special restrictive magnetic tape. However, the tape is not included in the package and the buyer will have to take care of acquiring it on their own.

Specifications

The main parameters of the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner robot vacuum cleaner are provided in the table:

By the way, in 2017 Xiaomi released an updated model of the robot vacuum cleaner with wet cleaning - Xiaomi Mi Roborock Sweep One, and already in 2018 a simplified model appeared on the market - Xiaowa Robot Vacuum Cleaner Lite and Xiaomi Xiaowa E202-00.

Why we compare with iRobot Roomba 616

Most, comparing Xiaomi and iRobot robots, put forward the iRobot Roomba 980 model as a contender from the American manufacturer, which is fundamentally wrong. The fact is that this robot vacuum cleaner is from a completely different price range, it's like comparing an inexpensive Chinese car with a Mercedes or Infiniti. Although despite this, Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner is not much inferior to the 980th Rumba, which is even more gaining interest in this robot vacuum cleaner.

For comparison, we took the 616th Rumba for two reasons:

1. This model is also quite popular and has more positive reviews than the Roomba 980 or 960.
2. The cost of the compared robotic vacuum cleaners is almost the same. The average price of Xiaomi in 2019 is 17 thousand rubles.rubles, while iRobot costs 19.9 thousand rubles. The American manufacturer's 700s and 800s are also more expensive, so the Roomba 616 is the fairest comparison.

Conclusions and the best offers on the market

The Xiaomi brand robot vacuum cleaner stands out for its good spatial orientation system - it detects obstacles at a considerable distance using a special laser sensor. The device is distinguished by a powerful battery, the ability to change the fan power and control using a mobile application.

The latter allows you to see the automatically defined trajectory of the robot and change it if necessary.

Have experience with Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner or a model from the list of competitors? Please share with readers your impressions of the operation of robotic technology. Leave feedback, comments and ask questions - the contact form is below.