Today, more and more young people are using sweeping robots as home cleaning tools. In the early days, sweeping robots relied on random collisions for space exploration and cleaning. Now, Roborock Technology leads the industry in mass-producing LDS (laser distance sensor) modules. Roborock believes that navigation and obstacle avoidance are crucial for sweeping and mopping robots.
The introduction of LDS enables sweeping robots to construct high-precision maps in real-time. This allows them to work more independently, strategically, and efficiently. As science and technology advance, Roborock Technology continues to explore navigation and obstacle avoidance. Recently, Roborock launched a new generation of self-cleaning sweeping and mopping robots, focusing on obstacle avoidance.
The Roborock V20 is the world’s first dual-light source solid-state robot. Its lidar system enhances obstacle avoidance capabilities, making sweeping and mopping robots more intelligent. The V20 features a dual-light source solid-state lidar system, which provides faster and more accurate navigation, millimeter-level obstacle avoidance, and an ultra-thin design.
With the star array navigation system, the V20 can efficiently obtain three-dimensional geometric composition information and complete three-dimensional mapping quickly. It can identify 22 categories and 73 types of objects, ensuring collision-free cleaning. The robot’s thin design enables it to easily maneuver under furniture.
Equipped with a dual-arm sweeping and mopping system, the V20 can extend its mechanical side brush and dynamic mechanical side mop to clean the dust in dead corners. Additionally, the V20 features a new base station with self-driven and self-cleaning capabilities. The base station’s drive motor and dual scrapers ensure thorough cleaning of the robot’s chassis, with any remaining stains rinsed away by clean water.
Design
Roborock V20 boasts a classic black appearance. Its lidar scanner seamlessly integrates into the front, offering a sleek design. Three buttons grace the top panel: power, home, and hydration.
Extending outward, the side brush and mop ensure thorough cleaning of hard-to-reach corners. At the rear, integrated charging contacts and hydration holes enhance functionality. The front hosts a trio of integrated features: 3D ToF solid-state lidar, RGB camera, and fill light. Positioned in the middle area lies a 220ml dust box, temporarily housing collected debris.
During mopping, the double-rotating lifting mop vigorously rotates, tackling stubborn stains at a rapid 200 times/min. It intelligently lifts upon encountering carpets or blankets to prevent excess wetness. Employing a double-helix self-maintaining rubber brush, Roborock V20 evades hair entanglement with its oblique spiral design. The base station, matching the robot’s elegance in pure black, houses a drive motor for thorough chassis scraping.
Featuring a closed design, the cleaning tray effectively locks in sewage, preventing seepage. Both scraper and filter are easily removable for user convenience. Furthermore, when low on water, the robot autonomously returns to the base station for refilling. Post-cleaning, the base station dries the mop.
Opening the top reveals two intelligently controlled water tanks: clean and sewage. Upon completing tasks, the robot replenishes from the clean water tank, while sewage is channeled into its designated compartment for effective treatment. Integrated within the sweeper is a 2.7-liter dust bag, requiring replacement only every six months for daily cleaning, streamlining maintenance to just two annual disposals.
Sweeping and Mopping Test
The 3D modeling feature of the Roborock V20 helps in swiftly creating models. Within 2 minutes, it can model a 10-square-meter bedroom and automatically recognize the floor material. Transitioning to cleaning effectiveness, the Roborock V20 boasts a suction power of up to 11,000Pa, divided into five gears. The Max+ gear, while suitable for deep cleaning, is used sparingly due to its power consumption and noise level. For everyday cleaning, the first four gears suffice.
In our testing, the standard mode proved effective for common household debris. Solid waste like melon seed peels is easily swept away. Transitioning to mopping, the Roborock V20 efficiently removes stains with its 200 rpm rotation method, particularly stubborn ones like cola stains. Unlike vibrating mops, its double-rotating mop applies downward pressure for thorough cleaning.
When mopping with moderate water, more water stains may remain. Thus, minimal water suffices for routine mopping. For mixed wet and dry garbage, standard suction sweeping and medium water mopping suffice. Encounter a carpet, and the lift-type mop automatically adjusts to prevent damage while cleaning effectively.
The Roborock V20’s standout feature is its dual sweeping and mopping robotic arm design. This design enhances cleaning efficiency, reaching corners traditional sweepers can’t. Comparing before and after, the corner cleaning coverage reaches an impressive 100%.
The side brush extends intelligently, with dynamic speed adjustment to navigate different areas. In mopping, the Roborock V20 activates edge-mopping mode upon detecting a wall. Its dynamic mechanical side mopping extends outward for a thorough cleaning, retracting intelligently to avoid obstacles.
The Roborock V20 also identifies the charging base station, ensuring detailed cleaning around it. With its intelligent telescopic dual-arm sweeping and mopping system, the Roborock V20 not only boosts cleaning efficiency but also enhances safety, making it effective in various environments.
Obstacle Avoidance Ability Test
The Roborock V20 launched a test to assess its obstacle avoidance ability. Equipped with a 3D ToF solid-state lidar and an RGB camera, the robot excels in object recognition, detecting 73 objects across 22 categories. It boasts an ultra-wide field of view, ensuring no obstacle goes unnoticed.
This combination empowers the robot to not only efficiently clean around obstacles but also avoid collisions with millimeter-level accuracy. It navigates with precision akin to real-time satellite guidance, ensuring thorough and safe cleaning.
In a separate obstacle avoidance test, the Roborock V20 demonstrated its prowess. It accurately senses obstacles ahead, adjusting its speed to avoid collisions. During daily cleaning, it intelligently identifies obstacles, adapting its path for efficient cleaning while safeguarding itself from damage. In low light, the front-facing RGB camera detects insufficient illumination.
The sweeper’s auxiliary lighting system automatically activates in such conditions, providing better visibility. This fill light enhances obstacle detection, optimizing cleaning efficiency and safety. Even in darkness, the presence of the sweeping robot is noticeable, improving visibility and avoiding interference, thus enhancing both efficiency and safety.
Base Station Test
We clean the garbage in the house beforehand. The dust box is already filled with garbage like melon seed peels. After automatic dust collection, the base station sweeps away the garbage in the dust box. There’s no need to manually empty the garbage for daily use. The garbage after dust collection gets stored in the base station’s antibacterial dust bag. For daily home cleaning, we simply replace the dust bag every 60 days. This frees up our hands, eliminating the need to deal with garbage daily.
Post dust collection, the mop begins self-cleaning. Before cleaning, the mop was stained with soy sauce and other marks, appearing completely black. The base station automatically detects the mop’s dirtiness and activates the 60° hot water washing function. This effectively breaks down stubborn oil stains. The entire cleaning process lasts about 5 to 6 minutes.
After cleaning, we notice the mop has turned very white, a stark contrast to its previous dark appearance. The cleaning effect is remarkable. Following the self-cleaning process, the Roborock V20 base station automatically initiates the drying process, using hot air to swiftly dry the wet mop.
This process takes about 2 hours, but we can extend it to 4 hours to ensure complete moisture removal, keeping the mop dry and fresh. In dry northern urban climates, leaving a wet mop in a small base station for too long can lead to mold and unpleasant odors due to moisture. It may also cause unnecessary pollution to the indoor environment. Hence, timely drying is crucial. It maintains the mop’s hygiene and helps preserve the cleanliness and health of the home environment.
Verdict
Roborock V20, while keeping its traditional double-spiral rubber brushes, dual-arm cleaning system, active hot water cleaning cloth, RGB camera, and other features, has focused on enhancing its obstacle avoidance abilities. Firstly, the introduction of the first dual-light source solid-state lidar, it sheds the bulky “hat” atop the sweeper, resulting in a sleeker design and significantly improved obstacle avoidance capabilities.
Additionally, during testing, Roborock V20 showcased superior mapping capabilities, completing mapping in less than 2 minutes compared to the 3 minutes taken by previous models in the same area, marking a substantial speed improvement.
Furthermore, its slimmer profile enables it to effortlessly navigate under furniture like beds and wardrobes, reaching areas previously difficult for conventional sweepers to clean.
In terms of obstacle avoidance, Roborock V20 adeptly maneuvers around furniture and small objects, minimizing potential disruptions during cleaning. Notably, when faced with obstacles, Roborock V20 proactively slows down to mitigate potential collisions, ensuring both furniture safety and smooth machine operation.
This intelligent obstacle avoidance greatly enhances the adaptability and efficiency of home cleaning robots. Despite its exceptional obstacle avoidance, Roborock V20’s cleaning capabilities remain uncompromised.
Integrating the dual-arm efficient corner cleaning system from the P10 Pro, Roborock V20 efficiently reaches edges and corners, leaving no blind spots untouched.
With an all-in-one self-cleaning base station offering hot water washing, dust collection, drying, hydration, and sterilization, Roborock V20 provides a comprehensive cleaning solution, eliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing daily housework burdens.
Overall, Roborock V20 excels in cleaning and self-cleaning, elevating its obstacle avoidance capabilities. With its sleek design and multifunctionality, it offers a top-tier whole-house cleaning experience, representing the industry’s forefront in technology exploration and Stone Technology’s flagship innovation in smart home cleaning.
Read Also: Roborock P10S Pro Review: Powerful Cleaning with Rich Features