Neato Botvac D7: Most Intelligent Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuum cleaners we are already familiar with and continuous innovation is going on with them. There have been several awesome robot vacuum cleaners with some intelligent capabilities. But even that brilliance is about to get a further boost with the launch of new Neato Botvac 07. From innovative features like floor mapping and No-go lines to the stylish design and uncompromising performance, there are several aspects that make it a winner product. Only downside of the product is probably it’s slightly expensive price tag.
Pricing
This smart and intelligent robot vacuum cleaner doesn’t come cheap and affordable. Neato Botvac D7 Connected is priced quite ambitiously at $799 and it is now available in both US and UK and will be introduced in Australia at the end of this year.
Design
This Neato vacuum cleaner is shaped like a capital ‘D’ which is quite different from the circular design of many other brands like Roomba and Dyson. This design enables it to hold a 10.9cm rotating brush at the front that makes it work much in the fashion of the head of a traditional vacuum cleaner. When viewed from the top, there is a solid plastic bumper at the front preventing any damage in case it bumps head on with any obstacles and objects.
The bin and the sensors
Over the main part of the body there is a cover of a good looking brushed-metal plate. The big sized panel just uncovers as lid of the bin but just because of being built with see-through plastic one can easily see whether the bin requires to be emptied. Obviously the bin is much smaller than the traditional ones as is the case with most robotic vacuum cleaners. The only downside of he bin mechanism is that it is devoid of any sensor indicating that the bin is filled up.
Multiple brushes at work
Besides the main brush at the front there is also a smaller brush that works simultaneously to clean up the dirts in the corner and while cleaning around objects and so called inaccessible corners. The best part of the brush design is that a magnet is used to keep the brush bristles in place. Brushes seem to get out of shape after first few cleans and so you may need to replace them quite frequently.
A turret on top
The best thing about the new design is it comes with a ‘turret’ on top. This turret actually accommodates all the sensors that remains instrumental in measuring and mapping the entire room floor. Unlike its predecessor it has less chances to get stuck up at some tight corners and inaccessible places.
Alerts and indicators
Finally, it comes well equipped with LED indicator lights showing battery level, type of cleaning, and wireless connection. But these indicators are just for quick at a glance alerts. The most needed and detailed information about the cleaning process can be seen inside the app.
Performance
Neato Botvac D7 offers cleaning in two distinct modes, respectively an ‘eco’ mode and a ‘turbo’ mode. While the first one offers a quiet cleaning without taking too much battery power the turbo mode offers more thorough cleaning but operates with a slightly monotonous sound. Though, for any mode you do not need to be concerned when you are not at home and the vacuum cleaner is busy cleaning floors back home.
Smart cleaning features
The two awesome features of this new vacuum cleaner, respectively My FloorPlan and No-Go Lines clearly allows you to see the areas cleaned by it along with the time and duration of its work. All these information you can access through the connected app remotely.
As for preventing it from cleaning and setting foot in certain areas all you need is to draw a line in the floor map right from the mobile app and the Neato Botvac D7 just follows that no-go lines drawn by you.
The vacuum cleaner also comes with a ‘Manual’ mode allowing you to take control of the D7 just as a remote controlled car by manoeuvring the directional arrows on the phone screen. This allows you to direct it to a specific area and clean it.
Battery power and cleaning cycle
As claimed by the official Neato website, the D7 is capable to clean a 5000 sq ft area just in a single cleaning cycle. The battery of the cleaner can last up to 120 minutes.
In closing,
Obviously, you do not have a better robotic cleaner with the similar range of features and versatile control modes as the D7 offers. The only small drawback is the incredibly small 0.7L bin and absence of any full-bin sensor. But these minor compromises cannot be a big issue when compared with the intelligent features and variety of controls it offers.
Dhruvil is a Writer & Marketeer for Nimblechapps, joined in December 2014, based out of Sydney, Australia. He has worked briefly as a Branding and Digital Marketing Manager before moving to Australia. At Nimblechapps, he worked on Social Media Marketing, Branding, Email Marketing and Blogging. Dhruvil studies Business at University of Western Sydney, and also handles Operations for the company in Australia.