Today in our test lab is Samsung's most expensive and original robot vacuum cleaner. The model with a long name Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC has an original design, which reflects an equally original view of cleaning by engineers who have been designing vacuum cleaners for many decades in a row, and conventional ones, not robots. But more recently, automated cleaners have begun to appear in such giants as Samsung. Well, let's see what exactly this manufacturer offers the user and how he sees the ideal cleaning robot.
Contents of delivery
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The device comes in a sturdy white cardboard box with a plastic carrying handle. Inside, in addition to the vacuum cleaner itself, we found the following accessories:
- charging station;
- power adapter with detachable power cable;
- remote control with a pair of AAA batteries;
- marking tape to mark the border of the working area;
- spare replacement filter;
- replaceable rotary brush with combined coating;
- brush cover;
- printed user manual in several languages ββ(including Russian).
Also on the vacuum cleaner have already been installed:
- rotary brush with soft coating;
- brush cover;
- filter.
The set is quite interesting. Pleased with the presence of two rotary brushes of different types, designed for cleaning various floor coverings.
Technical specifications
| Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC | |
|---|---|
| Type of cleaning | Dry (cyclone type) |
| SENSORS | optical camera Three-axis gyroscope IR obstacle detection sensors Mechanical obstacle detection sensors Height difference sensors Optical odometer |
| Waste container volume, l | For dust: 0,3 |
| Interface | WiFi 802.11b/g/n 2,4GHz |
| Protocols | DHCP |
| Encryption | WPA-PSK/TKIP and WPA2-PSK/AES |
| Suction power, W | 20 (3 power levels) |
| Features | Remote control from a smartphone Three cleaning programs Automatic power control Cleaning Schedule Programming Voice notifications |
| Noise level, dBA | 78 |
| Autonomy, min | 60/75/90 (depending on power level) |
| Battery | Li-ion, 21,6 V / 77,8 Wh |
| Dimensions, mm | 340 Γ Γ 348 97 |
| Weight, kg | 4,3 |
| Estimated price*, rub. | 41 990 |
* Cost in company at the time of writing.
The range of Samsung robot vacuum cleaners is quite wide, but almost all of them, with the exception of the simplest and most inexpensive, are united by a common design scheme, due to which these devices look very different from the vast majority of models from other manufacturers. But we will talk about cleaning technologies a little later, when we get acquainted with the design. For now, let's focus on the electronic filling. At the heart of the control system of all new Samsung robots is an optical camera, with which the vacuum cleaner builds a map of the room (along the ceiling). The Visionary Mapping 2.0 navigation system is also based on data obtained from a three-axis gyroscope.
The entire front surface of the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC is covered with infrared obstacle detection sensors. Well, on the lower edge of the robot there are height difference sensors. However, the manufacturer does not recommend releasing the device for cleaning hazardous areas with stairs or balconies without railings. All these places must either be blocked before cleaning, or a special tape from the delivery set must be glued to the floor in front of them, which may not always be convenient.
And although there is a remote control included in the package, the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC model also has the ability to control it from a smartphone. The robot itself connects to the home Wi-Fi network, and you need to install the free SmartThings branded application on your smartphone, which works with various Samsung smart home appliances.
Appearance and ergonomics
As mentioned above, the novelty looks a bit like other robotic vacuum cleaners, but its futuristic body shape, rounded contours, decorative inserts and sparkling elements make this model more than original. At the same time, the vacuum cleaner is quite heavy and large. And although the manufacturer writes about βSlim Designβ on the website, the height of the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC is an impressive 97 mm, so it wonβt be able to fit under any home furniture.
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The bottom surface of the case is made of durable matte black plastic. The top and sides are glossy. Well, a silver insert of variable width, located around the perimeter of the body, gives the vacuum cleaner a complete look. The novelty is also decorated with a mirror insert next to a transparent container for collecting debris and dust, and a huge window behind which an optical camera is hidden for building a map of the room. The container itself with a cyclonic dust collection mechanism inside gives the robot a serious appearance, which is felt in almost all design details - in protruding elements and rubber combs, two movable bumpers in the front, a wide panel with a brush. Thanks to all these technical features, the appearance of the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC turned out to be expensive and attractive.
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In the wide front part of the robot, two movable bumpers are installed on the outside: one at the bottom and the other at the top. And behind one and the other bumper mechanical obstacle detection sensors are hidden. Infrared sensors that stop the robot before it hits an obstacle are placed behind a translucent black insert in the front. In order for the wide U-shaped lower bumper not to scratch furniture and other interior items at the corners, small rollers are installed on it at the corners.
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On top of the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC case, there is an optical camera, a control unit with touch keys and a monochrome character screen with blue backlight, as well as a large button for removing the trash can, which is installed on top. The container itself is transparent, so it will not be difficult to control its occupancy.
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The realization that our robot is completely different from models from other manufacturers comes after the vacuum cleaner is upside down. This model, like other new Samsung robots, does not have side sweeping brushes, and the main rotary brush has grown significantly in size. In width, it is almost equal to the width of the vacuum cleaner itself and is placed in its front part. The robot itself as a result became like one big brush. The brush is securely held in the axial mounts by a large plastic frame. The frame is made removable, like other models, but the mount itself does not have a floating mechanism, since in this case it is simply not needed.
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The vacuum cleaner comes with two brushes of different types and the corresponding holding frames for them. One brush has a soft coating of various hairs - it is designed for cleaning smooth floors. Visually, it is divided into two parts, and on the frame in the center and on the sides you can see metal corrugated inserts that act as knives for cutting hair and wool, wound around the brush during cleaning. As a result, during the operation of the vacuum cleaner, the brush is self-cleaning, and the cut hair does not wrap around it, but sooner or later ends up in the trash bin.
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The second brush is deprived of such an important advantage as the possibility of self-cleaning, but it has combined combs made of different materials that allow you to effectively sweep dust and debris from carpets.
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Rubber combs located on the frames, as well as on the body of the vacuum cleaner itself, along the edges, help the brushes to direct dust and debris into the dust path. But the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC has another important design element that allows you not to be sad due to the lack of a side brush for sweeping debris along walls and baseboards. If you look closely at the front face of the case, it is easy to notice a narrow red stripe. This is a rubber comb of a large movable sash, which automatically lowers as soon as the robot comes close to a wall or baseboard. With a rubber comb, the robot gently pushes debris away from the wall, which it cannot reach with a rotary brush, and then removes it in the usual way. Obviously, such a process requires a much more sophisticated navigation system than most other models. How the novelty copes with this, we will find out a little later, when we start testing. In the meantime, let's continue our acquaintance with the design.
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The container for collecting dust and debris from the novelty is small. Its volume is only 0,3 liters, which is less than most other robots. But the container has a cyclone type design. In fact, the container performs the function of a pre-filter. In it, dust and debris stick together into a single lump in the central catching part, and the purified air rushes further - to the next filter. This filter is installed on the rear wall of the container and can be easily removed by opening the filter cover and pulling the plastic ring on the filter itself. It is made from thick foam. Unfortunately, the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC does not provide any finer filters (HEPA or any other). Whether one foam rubber is enough - we'll see when testing.
The dust path of the vacuum cleaner is very short. Under the brush there is a small space in the central part where debris is sucked in. It passes through a short cylindrical path leading to the receiving opening of the container. The outlet part of the path has a rubber seal so that fine dust does not penetrate outside. Well, the purified air from the side of the filter is pulled by the engine and thrown out through the side vents. The very principle of operation of the vacuum cleaner, as you can see, is classic.
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Concluding the acquaintance with the design of the robot, let's say a few words about its organs of motion. Suspension of the leading side wheels with electric drives is well known to us from other models of automatic cleaners. The wheels in this case have a very large vertical travel, but this does not mean at all that the robot will jump over high obstacles. Such suspension travel is needed rather for the safe exit of the vacuum cleaner from something that it accidentally climbed onto during cleaning. Well, a large rubber tread should resist slipping.
Since the robot has a not quite traditional body shape, and its dimensions and weight are rather big, it has several additional freely rotating wheels. One of them is located at the back, the second is almost in the central part, and two more (in the form of rollers) are right in front of the brush compartment, next to the contact pads for charging the battery. But only the rear wheel has a long-travel spring suspension that improves the robot's flotation.
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Charging station at Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC has a traditional shape, but rather rather big dimensions. Despite the latter circumstance, the station's power adapter is not built into the case, but external. It is quite powerful - 61,5 W, but still its dimensions do not interfere with placement in the charging station case. However, alas, the user is forced to put the power adapter somewhere near the charging station on the floor or look for another suitable place for it.
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The remote control supplied with the robot is designed to match the device itself. The streamlined shape of the glossy plastic case is successfully combined with a flat, as if cut off surface, on which the main buttons with a moderately long travel are located. In total, there are seventeen control buttons on the remote control, with which you can turn on any operating modes and even program the cleaning schedule. In the latter case, the robot must be installed on the charging station, and the selected turn-on time will be visible on the display of the vacuum cleaner itself.
On the front of the remote control there are two large "eyes" and one small one. The small one is used to transmit commands to the robot, and the large ones are necessary for the operation of the laser pointer, a special manual cleaning function in which the user independently indicates to the robot the point to which he needs to move. We have never encountered such a very unusual function. In general, both the appearance and the design of the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC are so interesting and unusual that you really want to try it out as soon as possible. Having recharged the battery a little, we started testing.
Features of the SmartThings Software Application
In principle, for full-fledged work with the robot, the remote control from the delivery set is enough. If you prefer a more modern control option - using a smartphone, then it is worth considering that in this case you will be deprived of a very useful manual cleaning function using a laser pointer. To work in this mode, you still need a remote control.
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The SmartThings application is quite simple, although its interface is in English. With it, you can start any cleaning mode, change the suction power, set up a work schedule and change the language of the robot's voice prompts and comments. Well, you can also see the history of cleanings - that is the only thing for which it is really worth installing SmartThings on your phone. In this case, the map of the covered territory is not built in real time, as with some other robot models, but appears after harvesting. But with the help of it, you can see where the vacuum cleaner has been, and where it has not looked. Also in the application you can see all the errors and problems that the robot has during cleaning. For example, he will automatically report if he is stuck somewhere or has chewed up some piece of clothing lying on the floor.
Robot at work
We tested in two rooms: in an ordinary one-room apartment with floors covered with laminate, tiles and carpet, as well as in a small two-story country house with floors covered with laminate. The cleaning conditions in the latter case are much more difficult: both from the point of view that the floors in the country house are almost always dirtier, and because this house has a staircase between floors, and the robot will have to use its height sensors in order not to fall from it.
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In automatic mode, the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC independently determines the type of surface to be cleaned and adjusts the suction power level. Unlike other robots that have been in our test lab, this device is most gentle on furniture and interior items. When approaching an obstacle, the robot is in no hurry to probe it with its bumper, but it does not turn around before reaching it half a meter. In most cases, it smoothly approaches the obstacle closely, and then turns.
If there is a wall in front of the robot, then the fun begins. A red rubber brush extends from the front, with which the robot pushes dust and debris away from the wall. Then he turns around and vacuums the area. Then he again goes somewhere in the middle of the room, and so on until the entire room is cleaned. Upon completion of cleaning, the vacuum cleaner is sent to the docking station. Despite the constructed map of the premises, returning to the base of the novelty for some reason always takes a very long time. He drives into different corners, as if checking whether he cleaned well there. And only after some time he manages to find the charging station. In the immediate vicinity of it, the robot calls in for charging very quickly.
In addition to the fully automatic mode of operation, the novelty has a local cleaning mode. At the same time, he goes around a square area with a side of about one and a half meters. But the most interesting way is cleaning with a target designator. This mode of operation is activated by pressing and holding one of the buttons on the remote control. At the same time, a laser pointer is turned on, which you need to indicate to the robot the direction of movement. Moving to the specified target, the robot simultaneously vacuums the territory. The user can only move the target from one point to another, manually setting the trajectory of movement. This mode is much more convenient and efficient than the local cleaning mode.
The robot does not fall down stairs. In any case, in our testing, the sensors worked clearly. But the manufacturer still does not recommend cleaning areas with a significant difference in height. To do this, a rather outdated method is recommended - sticking a restrictive tape on the floor in front of steps, a cliff or dangerous objects. During the cleaning process, the robot touches this tape and understands that it needs to turn around. To be honest, few people want to stick some kind of tape on the floor in their house that you can stumble on, which interfere with wet cleaning, spoil the interior, and so on.
But the quality of cleaning tiles, laminate, parquet and carpets with a small pile with this robot is beyond praise. Even after one pass, it is almost impossible to find crumbs or dust on the floor. Everything is already inside the cyclone container. The robot easily overcomes small obstacles in the form of scattered books, wires or thresholds. It is already difficult for him to climb something higher, but sometimes this also happens. However, having climbed somewhere, the robot is in a hurry to quickly move out of there.
For all the time of testing, we never managed to make this vacuum cleaner get stuck somewhere. Perhaps his most difficult challenge was cleaning the very high pile rug in the bathroom. This mat turned out to be just somewhere on the verge of a vacuum cleaner. He tried to climb on it several times, and even successfully, but he did not dare to vacuum it normally. But, most importantly, he did not get stuck on it!
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This robot is the first among many previously tested models that is actually capable of self-cleaning. No, of course, he does not shake out the garbage from the container into the trash can, but he cuts the hair and wool from the brush and sucks it into the container very successfully. As a result, the rotary brush remains after cleaning almost the same as it was before. The second brush, with combined blades, does not know how to clean itself, but it most effectively lifts debris from carpets.
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Well, cleaning the container and filter on the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC does not cause even the slightest discomfort. You just need to remove the container, shake out the collected garbage into a bucket and take everything to the sink, where, under running water, thoroughly wash all the plastic elements and the filter.
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It is also worth wiping the vacuum cleaner itself. And both outside and inside. Outside, dust is very easy to stick to its glossy surfaces. Well, inside, dust and dirt are concentrated at the joints of the container and the vacuum cleaner itself. And not only where the air flow enters it along with the garbage, but also where the purified air leaves the container with the filter. This is where it becomes very clear that a HEPA fine filter would not interfere with this vacuum cleaner at all.
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The quality of all consumables for the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC is worthy of respect. After almost daily testing for two weeks, their condition remained practically unchanged, so this robot will definitely not require a lot of money in the course of its life. But in the very first cleaning when building a map of the premises, he somewhere managed to scratch his silvery sides. And on both sides. Most likely, this happened in the bathroom, where the robot could not drive under the cabinet with legs, as it turned out to be too low for it, but spun around it for a long time. However, as they say, this does not affect the speed, so you definitely should not worry about a scratch on a device that is designed for cleaning dirt.
It remains to be added that the robot comments on all its actions in a pleasant female voice. You can choose almost any language, including Russian. The robot gives advice and reports errors. Voice prompts can be turned off if desired. As for the battery life, in the maximum power mode, the robot can clean the room for an hour. This is quite enough, for example, for an ordinary two-room apartment and even a not-too-large three-ruble note. At the end of the charging process, the robot can continue cleaning if, for example, it did not have time to finish it.
Conclusions
In general, after getting acquainted with the Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC, we had only the most pleasant impressions. This robot is very smart, beautiful and, most importantly, perfectly copes with the duties assigned to it. Here are its main advantages:
- original and attractive appearance;
- cyclone container;
- building a map of the premises;
- high suction power with the possibility of both manual and automatic regulation;
- good cross;
- very careful attitude to furniture and interior items;
- original and effective cleaning technology along walls and skirting boards;
- cleaning mode with target designation;
- the ability to set a work schedule;
- smartphone control;
- self-cleaning of the main brush;
- very easy cleaning of all removable components.
Everyone, as you know, has its shortcomings. Samsung POWERbot VR20R7260WC has these:
- no fine filter;
- an ill-conceived way of limiting the space of work;
- external power adapter not built into the charging station.
As you can see, there are few shortcomings. The cost of the device is rather big, but it honestly works out this money. The only thing I would like to wish the manufacturer is to actively develop the smartphone application, adding new features there. It would be great to see there, for example, work with room maps, where it would be possible to limit the cleaning space not physically, but virtually, by mapping the corresponding forbidden zones for the robot. Otherwise, the novelty deserves close attention as a candidate for choosing a robot vacuum cleaner in the above-average price category.
Source: 3dnews.ru