Robot bai!

Domestic robots are invading Indian homes, doing every day tasks, but can they replace you or your maid

Robotic vacuum cleaners and floor washing robots doing chores inside homes, is not a new trend. They have been around for a decade and more in the US — after a robotics engineer from the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab, Rodney Brooks co-founded iRobot in 1990 with two colleagues. But, the company’s first domestic cleaning robot, Roomba was launched in 2002.

Home cleaning robots were first introduced in India in 2012 by a company founded by Rajeev Karwal, under the brand name Milagrow which today has half a dozen home cleaning robots including some for cleaning glass windows, swimming pools and lawns. They have also adapted the technology to Indian needs, by getting most of their indoor range to do both jhadoo and pocha.

iRobot finally brought its flagship Roomba products to India a few weeks ago through Bengaluru-headquartered Puresight Systems, offering models in 3 series — 600, 700 and 800 — all working alike, with small variations in vacuum power and ranging in cost from Rs 32,900 to Rs 69,900. The model 700 has a pair of extractors rotating in opposite directions, to pick up debris from the floor. The extractors are enhanced by a vacuum, which directs the airflow through a narrow slit to collect fine dust. A horizontally mounted “side spinner” brush sweeps against walls to reach debris not accessible by the main brushes and vacuum. The robot is powered by a battery that has to be recharged from mains through a docking station. It includes a cliff sensor so that it doesn’t fall downstairs. To create no-go areas, you can build infra red ‘virtual walls’.

The robot is programmed by a built-in algorithm that follows a spiral path, cleaning in circles, and in another mode, it follows the wall, changing its angle if it bumps into an obstacle. One problem with floor cleaning robots is that hair on the floor tends to entangle in the rotating parts. But Roomba has a simple system to clean the extractors. The Roomba 700 costs Rs 49,900. For wet mopping, iRobot has another product — the Brava 380t for hard floors, which uses reusable cleaning cloth and costs Rs 27,900).

Milagrow: Doing double duty

Milagrow has obviously studied the Indian case well before launching its floor cleaning robots here. So, their recent launch RedHawk 3.0 has what is claimed to be the largest dust receptacle and the largest brush for this class of robot. My wife and I have been using the RedHawk 1.0 for two years now — so we can appreciate why a larger dustbin would be useful. Milagrow works in the same way as other cleaning robots, but has added a few features of its own — like an ultraviolet light source that sanitises the floor after cleaning. Like the Roomba it also boasts a high efficiency air filter to remove fine particles.

For Indian users, the fact that the RedHawk also comes with a wet cleaning mode might be a plus point (you have to moisten and attach the cleaning mop provided). It costs Rs 25,990

Milagrow has just launched a full wet cleaning robot — the AquaBot 4.0 with its own built-in water tank that costs an additional Rs 4,000, while doing everything the RedHawk does. If you don’t need wet cleaning, Milagrow has a basic dry model for Rs 13,999.

To sum it up... iRobot’s Roomba range is a global brand and you have to pay a premium price. Milagrow is a desi design and offers a more affordable entry into the world of robotic cleaning. For home owners, robotic floor cleaners are a big step ahead of vacuum cleaners and will be a good buy. But here is a small catch: With their programmed patterns and odd course corrections, they take their time. Humans can do the job in half the time. Robots may beat us at chess but when it comes to cleaning, you ( or your bai) are more than a match.

— IndiaTechOnline.com