Robot Vacuum Cleaner Samsung POWERBot VR9000
With each new generation, robotic vacuum cleaners are becoming more powerful and smarter, but in addition they are surrounded by additional functions and new features. The current flagship iRobot Roomba 980, Neato Connected and the upcoming Dyson 360 Eye have acquired the ability to synchronize with Android and iOS. The Samsung POWERBot VR9000 model with the VR20H9050UW index (this is important) that came to our test (this is important) does not have such an opportunity, however this does not mean that Samsung has decided to stay away from the trend for now. It's just that VR9000 is not just one vacuum cleaner, but a family of robotic vacuum cleaners and, according to information from the Korean Samsung website ([ 1 ], [ 2]) the model with the POWERBot VR9000 VR20J9250U WiFi index is. Will she get to our edges? It is not yet known, but in the Samsung Smart Home application the corresponding functionality is incorporated and is unlikely to go anywhere.
You will notice that the ability to synchronize with a smartphone in a robot vacuum cleaner is by no means the most important thing and you will be right. Therefore, we will try to ignore this moment and share our real experience of using the POWERBot VR9000 VR20H9050UW, objectively assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the robot that fell into our hands - from the quality of cleaning and navigation efficiency, to the appearance and various trifles that surfaced during a long test.
Specifications:
Dimensions: 37.8 × 13.5 × 36.2 cm.
Power: 70 watts.
Battery: Li-ion 21.6V (84Wh)
Battery Life: 60 minutes.
Charging time: 160 minutes.
Movement speed - 32 centimeters per minute.
Maximum noise level: 76 dB.
Weight: 4.8 kg.
The first thing I want to touch on is the appearance of the Samsung POWERBot VR9000 VR20H9050UW (hereinafter for convenience we will just use VR9000), because it really differs from machines with a flattened cylinder shape, which has already become traditional for this class of devices. Yes, Samsung itself had previously sinned in a cylindrical design (for its Navibot family robots), but the VR9000 is more like a high-tech hot rod modification of the design of the half of the Neato Botvac 85 oval. Although, no, Botvac 85 was still monolithic, but here there is visual segmentation, like bulldozers - “body” separately, “bucket” separately.
Nevertheless, this is “Hi-tech” because it looks modern and even futuristic. And the “hot rod” is because many of the most famous “hot” modifications of the “roadsters” included an engine protruding from a special cut-out in the hood. The VR9000 “engine” in the form of, in fact, the Digital Inverter inverter engine and the trash container as much as 700 ml, just sticks out. And from the point of view of practicality, this is perhaps a minus. Indeed, under furniture with a height of legs lower than his own, the VR9000 will not be able to call. But it looks really impressive. Plus, Samsung has reported that, compared to its previous Smart Tango Automatic Vacuum Cleaner VR10F71UCAC solution, the VR9000 engine (30 watts) allows up to 20-fold superior suction power. About how this affected the quality of cleaning, a little later, but for now about the container.
Of all the robotic vacuum cleaners we have tried, emptying the VR9000 container is the easiest and fastest. The robot does not need to be removed from charging, just click the container off its back, remove the side cover and can be shaken out. The container itself has an intricate shape, since the design of the vacuum cleaner has a cyclone filter, the main task of which is to tear off the collected dirt in time from the main air stream and direct it to the container, and not to the fine filter. As a conclusion, the filter does not clog longer.
On the back of the robot there is a camera eye, a small screen and a block of touch buttons for quick launch or return to base. Using the camera, the robot builds a three-dimensional map of the room taking into account the observed obstacles and relies on it during navigation.
The wheels are large, 105 mm in diameter, rubber, can be lifted to a good half of their height, covered from the outside with a plastic casing and decorative overlays.
Enough to crawl from one type of surface to another
On the robot’s belly there is a single brush as wide as 31 cm wide. A brush is a brush with two rows of pile, softer and tougher. Is her hair wound around her? In the photo, just below the brush, after two months of home use in the family, in which long hair is the norm. The answer is yes, but not as much as it could. Most of the hair is still in the garbage container.
Motorized brush. How quickly it spins - the vacuum cleaner determines depending on the type of coating on which it stands.
Also on the abdomen of the robot, you can notice the on / off button and a pair of auxiliary wheels. The robot is also equipped with a surface edge sensor - so as not to accidentally fall off the stairs. What is missing? Side brushes. More precisely, a side brush. The second one is definitely not needed, since the role of the side brush is to work with skirting boards, and if the robot is equipped with one on one of the sides, then this side should turn to the wall along which it is cleaning. Does this mean that the VR9000 does not ensure the plinths are clean? Yes sir. But, at the same time, he does not wind tulle and curtains around this very brush, as the robots equipped with it do. No one promises that, having purchased a robot vacuum cleaner, you will forever forget about self-cleaning in the house, all robots are created to maintain cleanliness, so you will have to personally follow the skirtings.
The distance from the brush to the edges of the robot body is 2.5 cm and 4 cm in front - this is the distance in front of the walls and impassable wall obstacles that will remain uncleaned.
Of all the robots that passed through our hands earlier, the most “smart” without a doubt was the Neato Botvac 85 - excellent navigation, adequate response to obstacles and, as a conclusion, laying the shortest and fastest route to clean the house. After the test, Botvac 85 was taken from us immediately, and it is not yet possible to compare it with VR9000 head-to-head. However, after reviewing our video with the test of Botvac 85 and other robots, and comparing the freshened impressions with the live work of VR9000, we can safely say that Samsung did an excellent job on the intelligence of its machine.
The same video. There is also a text version on Geektimes.
The robot builds a map of the room using the camera eye, plus it has additional sensors and sensors for efficient navigation. Further, it runs in even zigzags over the entire available area, does not climb into insurmountable sills. Thick wires do not reel on themselves. But charging from tablets and phones is better not to scatter.
If after cleaning there are dirty places, they can be noted using the remote laser pointer.
This is much more convenient and simpler than intercepting manual control and steering the robot yourself until everything dirty is clean. The pointer is, by the way, one of the unique distinguishing features of the VR9000.
The tendency to move chairs and other light furniture behind the robot was not noticed. If he can drop under, he calls in. If it can’t, it goes around the edges. However, he doesn’t see any obstacles below himself until he runs into them, so it’s better to enclose cat bowls and bowls, as well as your favorite “business” places for pets, with a complete virtual wall. Check in for charging is also quite an indicative test. And VR9000 turned out to be the first robot of all we tested, absolutely not "dull" when performing this maneuver. Just pulls up to charge and gets up. He doesn’t even try to move a meter or spin on the spot, which, at times, annoys his brothers from other manufacturers.
One example of recording a VR9000 room cleaning behavior from YouTube
Otherwise, the cleaning quality for the robot vacuum cleaner is excellent. As mentioned above, almost all of the collected hair is not wound on a brush, but ends up in a garbage container. Carpets with medium and small long pile can be cleaned without any problems. A long thick thick pile, as far as we know, has not yet been given to any robot a vacuum cleaner - it is impassable for them. If we are wrong, correct in the comments. As for tiles, laminate, parquet and other “simple” types of coating, their cleaning quality is satisfactory. Depending on the type of pollutant, up to 100% is collected. On the whole, we evaluate the quality of cleaning as excellent, the VR9000 copes with its main task perfectly and shows a result comparable to the result of the best robot vacuum cleaners we tested.
One of the biggest tests prepared for home appliances and electronics is the test of children. Children smash. With cheerful smiles on their faces and fervent laughter. During the test, mugs with unfinished cooled tea and numerous punches with all kinds of toys collapsed on our VR9000 instance. But, the main entertainment of the child was to put the handles on the vacuum cleaner and, having dispersed, roll him into the distance until some kind of obstacle took the blow of a racing car. It’s still very nice to press all the virtual buttons on the device’s case with the fury of a young hacker trying to either program a work schedule more interesting, or getting to the secret mode, turning the VR9000 into a Bumblebee transforming robot - in this case, the vacuum cleaner only obediently beeps and assent.
In fact, the child reacted warily to the first run-two, then the vacuum cleaner became interesting and gradually turned into a kind of favorite toy or even a pet friend. Yes, the theme of children is inextricable with the theme of pets. And here everything is very individual. In our experience, for some cats, robots are indifferent. Some play with them and can even sleep on them and ride. But, by default, count on the same reaction as on a regular vacuum cleaner. If the animal is afraid of an ordinary vacuum cleaner - and the robot vacuum cleaner for it will be its main enemy - a small evil hissing bug. And the VR9000 is by no means silent (76 dB), like all robotic vacuum cleaners. But as a plus, he can add Silence-mode, in which he becomes a little quieter. And even longer runs on a single charge - not an hour, but already a hundred minutes.
From this perspective, it looks more like a concept car, rather than a hot rod.
Only one question remained unanswered - the question of price. On the day of preparation of this text, the Samsung VR20H9050UW robot is available in four stores in Moscow with a price of 53 415 rubles. up to 77 750 rub. The price abroad is $ 799. For this money, he offers a powerful motor with a guarantee for ten years (a year warranty for the vacuum cleaner itself), by no means the useless function of the "laser pointer" in the remote control, and perhaps the best appearance. If you want a top-end device and want it to look the same, the VR9000 is your choice. Similarly, in the case of a gift - a person far from the topic may not immediately appreciate the full value of the same iRobot Roomba 980 (the review is already on geektimes and youtube), simply due to the fact that almost all cheap Chinese robots look plus minus as well. Botvac 85 is different, but its design is an amateur, even if this does not detract from its merits. But the VR9000 you donated will not make you doubt that this is one of the coolest vacuum cleaner robots on the market. And even in the search engine for this you do not have to climb. Samsung designers are not in vain eating their bread.
You will notice that the ability to synchronize with a smartphone in a robot vacuum cleaner is by no means the most important thing and you will be right. Therefore, we will try to ignore this moment and share our real experience of using the POWERBot VR9000 VR20H9050UW, objectively assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the robot that fell into our hands - from the quality of cleaning and navigation efficiency, to the appearance and various trifles that surfaced during a long test.
Specifications:
Dimensions: 37.8 × 13.5 × 36.2 cm.
Power: 70 watts.
Battery: Li-ion 21.6V (84Wh)
Battery Life: 60 minutes.
Charging time: 160 minutes.
Movement speed - 32 centimeters per minute.
Maximum noise level: 76 dB.
Weight: 4.8 kg.
The first thing I want to touch on is the appearance of the Samsung POWERBot VR9000 VR20H9050UW (hereinafter for convenience we will just use VR9000), because it really differs from machines with a flattened cylinder shape, which has already become traditional for this class of devices. Yes, Samsung itself had previously sinned in a cylindrical design (for its Navibot family robots), but the VR9000 is more like a high-tech hot rod modification of the design of the half of the Neato Botvac 85 oval. Although, no, Botvac 85 was still monolithic, but here there is visual segmentation, like bulldozers - “body” separately, “bucket” separately.
Nevertheless, this is “Hi-tech” because it looks modern and even futuristic. And the “hot rod” is because many of the most famous “hot” modifications of the “roadsters” included an engine protruding from a special cut-out in the hood. The VR9000 “engine” in the form of, in fact, the Digital Inverter inverter engine and the trash container as much as 700 ml, just sticks out. And from the point of view of practicality, this is perhaps a minus. Indeed, under furniture with a height of legs lower than his own, the VR9000 will not be able to call. But it looks really impressive. Plus, Samsung has reported that, compared to its previous Smart Tango Automatic Vacuum Cleaner VR10F71UCAC solution, the VR9000 engine (30 watts) allows up to 20-fold superior suction power. About how this affected the quality of cleaning, a little later, but for now about the container.
Of all the robotic vacuum cleaners we have tried, emptying the VR9000 container is the easiest and fastest. The robot does not need to be removed from charging, just click the container off its back, remove the side cover and can be shaken out. The container itself has an intricate shape, since the design of the vacuum cleaner has a cyclone filter, the main task of which is to tear off the collected dirt in time from the main air stream and direct it to the container, and not to the fine filter. As a conclusion, the filter does not clog longer.
On the back of the robot there is a camera eye, a small screen and a block of touch buttons for quick launch or return to base. Using the camera, the robot builds a three-dimensional map of the room taking into account the observed obstacles and relies on it during navigation.
The wheels are large, 105 mm in diameter, rubber, can be lifted to a good half of their height, covered from the outside with a plastic casing and decorative overlays.
Enough to crawl from one type of surface to another
On the robot’s belly there is a single brush as wide as 31 cm wide. A brush is a brush with two rows of pile, softer and tougher. Is her hair wound around her? In the photo, just below the brush, after two months of home use in the family, in which long hair is the norm. The answer is yes, but not as much as it could. Most of the hair is still in the garbage container.
Motorized brush. How quickly it spins - the vacuum cleaner determines depending on the type of coating on which it stands.
Also on the abdomen of the robot, you can notice the on / off button and a pair of auxiliary wheels. The robot is also equipped with a surface edge sensor - so as not to accidentally fall off the stairs. What is missing? Side brushes. More precisely, a side brush. The second one is definitely not needed, since the role of the side brush is to work with skirting boards, and if the robot is equipped with one on one of the sides, then this side should turn to the wall along which it is cleaning. Does this mean that the VR9000 does not ensure the plinths are clean? Yes sir. But, at the same time, he does not wind tulle and curtains around this very brush, as the robots equipped with it do. No one promises that, having purchased a robot vacuum cleaner, you will forever forget about self-cleaning in the house, all robots are created to maintain cleanliness, so you will have to personally follow the skirtings.
The distance from the brush to the edges of the robot body is 2.5 cm and 4 cm in front - this is the distance in front of the walls and impassable wall obstacles that will remain uncleaned.
Of all the robots that passed through our hands earlier, the most “smart” without a doubt was the Neato Botvac 85 - excellent navigation, adequate response to obstacles and, as a conclusion, laying the shortest and fastest route to clean the house. After the test, Botvac 85 was taken from us immediately, and it is not yet possible to compare it with VR9000 head-to-head. However, after reviewing our video with the test of Botvac 85 and other robots, and comparing the freshened impressions with the live work of VR9000, we can safely say that Samsung did an excellent job on the intelligence of its machine.
The same video. There is also a text version on Geektimes.
The robot builds a map of the room using the camera eye, plus it has additional sensors and sensors for efficient navigation. Further, it runs in even zigzags over the entire available area, does not climb into insurmountable sills. Thick wires do not reel on themselves. But charging from tablets and phones is better not to scatter.
If after cleaning there are dirty places, they can be noted using the remote laser pointer.
This is much more convenient and simpler than intercepting manual control and steering the robot yourself until everything dirty is clean. The pointer is, by the way, one of the unique distinguishing features of the VR9000.
The tendency to move chairs and other light furniture behind the robot was not noticed. If he can drop under, he calls in. If it can’t, it goes around the edges. However, he doesn’t see any obstacles below himself until he runs into them, so it’s better to enclose cat bowls and bowls, as well as your favorite “business” places for pets, with a complete virtual wall. Check in for charging is also quite an indicative test. And VR9000 turned out to be the first robot of all we tested, absolutely not "dull" when performing this maneuver. Just pulls up to charge and gets up. He doesn’t even try to move a meter or spin on the spot, which, at times, annoys his brothers from other manufacturers.
One example of recording a VR9000 room cleaning behavior from YouTube
Otherwise, the cleaning quality for the robot vacuum cleaner is excellent. As mentioned above, almost all of the collected hair is not wound on a brush, but ends up in a garbage container. Carpets with medium and small long pile can be cleaned without any problems. A long thick thick pile, as far as we know, has not yet been given to any robot a vacuum cleaner - it is impassable for them. If we are wrong, correct in the comments. As for tiles, laminate, parquet and other “simple” types of coating, their cleaning quality is satisfactory. Depending on the type of pollutant, up to 100% is collected. On the whole, we evaluate the quality of cleaning as excellent, the VR9000 copes with its main task perfectly and shows a result comparable to the result of the best robot vacuum cleaners we tested.
One of the biggest tests prepared for home appliances and electronics is the test of children. Children smash. With cheerful smiles on their faces and fervent laughter. During the test, mugs with unfinished cooled tea and numerous punches with all kinds of toys collapsed on our VR9000 instance. But, the main entertainment of the child was to put the handles on the vacuum cleaner and, having dispersed, roll him into the distance until some kind of obstacle took the blow of a racing car. It’s still very nice to press all the virtual buttons on the device’s case with the fury of a young hacker trying to either program a work schedule more interesting, or getting to the secret mode, turning the VR9000 into a Bumblebee transforming robot - in this case, the vacuum cleaner only obediently beeps and assent.
In fact, the child reacted warily to the first run-two, then the vacuum cleaner became interesting and gradually turned into a kind of favorite toy or even a pet friend. Yes, the theme of children is inextricable with the theme of pets. And here everything is very individual. In our experience, for some cats, robots are indifferent. Some play with them and can even sleep on them and ride. But, by default, count on the same reaction as on a regular vacuum cleaner. If the animal is afraid of an ordinary vacuum cleaner - and the robot vacuum cleaner for it will be its main enemy - a small evil hissing bug. And the VR9000 is by no means silent (76 dB), like all robotic vacuum cleaners. But as a plus, he can add Silence-mode, in which he becomes a little quieter. And even longer runs on a single charge - not an hour, but already a hundred minutes.
From this perspective, it looks more like a concept car, rather than a hot rod.
Only one question remained unanswered - the question of price. On the day of preparation of this text, the Samsung VR20H9050UW robot is available in four stores in Moscow with a price of 53 415 rubles. up to 77 750 rub. The price abroad is $ 799. For this money, he offers a powerful motor with a guarantee for ten years (a year warranty for the vacuum cleaner itself), by no means the useless function of the "laser pointer" in the remote control, and perhaps the best appearance. If you want a top-end device and want it to look the same, the VR9000 is your choice. Similarly, in the case of a gift - a person far from the topic may not immediately appreciate the full value of the same iRobot Roomba 980 (the review is already on geektimes and youtube), simply due to the fact that almost all cheap Chinese robots look plus minus as well. Botvac 85 is different, but its design is an amateur, even if this does not detract from its merits. But the VR9000 you donated will not make you doubt that this is one of the coolest vacuum cleaner robots on the market. And even in the search engine for this you do not have to climb. Samsung designers are not in vain eating their bread.