Neato's XV-11 robot vacuum gets the hands-on treatment
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted January 7th 2010 10:46AM
posted January 7th 2010 10:46AM
We had lots of fun playing with Neato's XV-11 robot sweeper -- probably as much fun as you can have watching something quietly vacuum a few M&Ms off of a carpet. Of course, the selling point is the company's Room Positioning System, which employs sensors to map the floor space (as opposed to merely bumping off walks). They are clearly gunning for Roomba's market share here -- but something tells me the latter company isn't worried. After all, we've never seen the XV-11 kill a viper.
as opposed to merely bumping off walks
as opposed to merely bumping off walls
just an FYI
I give it 3 weeks before it will be sold on woot.com every other week
Soooo better or worse than Roomba? Details!
@Brokinarrow These things are just novelties. Consumer Reports tested them and pretty much surmised the same. Nothing beats a BAG vacuum cleaner. Bagless are crap. And Hoover had like 5 of the top ten models. Word to the wise. Peace out, bitches!
@xCrunk
I beg to differ. I own a roomba and love it. It vacuums my place when im out doing errands. When I get back I have one less thing I need to do. They aren't a novelty, they actually do work.
Also...don't rely on consumer reports to make your own decisions. You have a brain. Use it.
@xCrunk That's what I thought too until I got a Roomba. The house has never been cleaner. It's true that an upright vacuum has more power, but Roomba gets to places you probably wouldn't wit an upright, it cleans for much longer than a person normally would (45 minutes - hour and half) and it can be scheduled to vacuum every single day. The end result is much better than what most people would get vacuuming themselves with any manual vacuum cleaner.
Have you seen the new "MINT" from Evolution Robotics?? Much better technology and much more affordable: http://www.mintcleaner.com
@thevoice2220
LOL
@thevoice2220
That thing probably works as good as the linked website......
It puts me on the floor or it gets the hose again. mkay?
It's like a Roomba and an Atari Jaguar had a baby.
I hold out till there's vid of a cute cat riding it.
I just put a coral snake and our XV-11 in the nook. We shall see...
this things looks more impressive then the roomba.
But it costs to much......then again, this is coming from a guy who bought his vacuum for 20 bucks at a garage sale. soooo....yeeeeeaaah
How loud is it - I will seriously consider it if it is quieter than the roomba. I think Roomba is a good idea, but it is pretty stupid when you think about it. This will actually do the entire floor, unlike the roomba that does random lines and if the battery dies it sometimes makes it to the base - but not often, and then it never continues on like this is supposed to.
Definitely looking forward to the review!
i think this is a GREAT beginning, but seriously, how well can they clean a carpet?
sure, if your house is all tile or wooden floors then this is awesome.
Does anyone else think that this thing looks like a Sega MegaDrive/Genesis??
Does it play Atari Jaguar games too?
Many people seem to be omitting one of the most significant aspects of this announcement: Onboard this robot is an extremely low-cost laser rangefinder (by at least an order of magnitude compared to time-of-flight rangefinders). This type of sensor is commonplace on expensive research platforms. Making them available at this price point could open up an entirely new era for hobby robotics.
If you’re interested… the laser rangefinder inside the XV-11 were documented at a robotics conference (ICRA 2008). I did an expose at my website, Hizook.com
http://www.hizook.com/blog/2009/12/20/ultra-low-cost-laser-rangefinders-actualized-neato-robotics
Looking at the top of this thing, I feel like dusting off my old Genesis and playing some Altered Beast.
That is, if I had one. But if I did, I'd be altering to a beast right about now...