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Robot vacuum maker Neato is shutting down amid stiff competition
Robovac maker Neato is closing as it struggles to compete against rivals like iRobot's Roomba line.
Neato’s robotic D10 vacuum uses LIDAR-based navigation
Neato’s newest robotic vacuum, the Neato D10, uses LIDAR-based mapping technology and a HEPA filter.
Neato's robotic vacuums will soon work with Siri Shortcuts
If you're using one of Neato's robotic vacuums and also use Apple devices, they should work better together soon. Neato just announced that its products will work with Siri Shortcuts starting in the fall, which means you can set up your own custom voice commands to deploy a vacuum in your home. When the feature rolls out, you'll be able to control your vacuum with four different actions: start cleaning, pause cleaning, go to the dock or base and "zone" cleaning.
Neato robot vacuum can map multiple floors of your home
Robot vacuums can frequently map a floor of your home to clean without much fuss. But if you aren't living in an apartment or bungalow, you probably have multiple floors -- where's the robovac for that? Neato thinks it can oblige. It's releasing a software update to the Botvac D7 Connected that lets its automated cleaner create maps for up to three floors. You'll still have to haul the robot up and down the stairs, but that beats buying another model just to avoid breaking out conventional cleaning tools. Neato is selling stand-alone charging stations (currently $40 each) to save you from moving the power source every time.
Neato's voice-activated Botvac arrives in the US for $800
Neato first unveiled the Botvac D7 Connected vacuum over six months ago and it has finally arrived in the US and Europe. The company's flagship robotic vacuum packs a lot of tech, including Amazon Alexa and Google Home voice control, a floor planner that lets you set no-go zones (pet and children's areas, for instance), and the LaserSmart system that can guide it in the dark. It supports IFTTT, Android Wear and Apple Watch, and using the iOS and Android Neato app, you can check coverage maps to see where it has cleaned.
Neato's newest Botvac integrates with your connected home
We're at a point where it's simply not enough for your robotic vacuum cleaner to tidy up your floors at set times each week. Now, it's vitally important that your smart home itself can summon and dismiss your vacuum cleaner at will. Which is why Neato is making such a big deal that its latest Botvac, the D7 Connected, can blend so seamlessly into your life.
Control Neato's robot vacuum with Amazon Alexa voice commands
Getting your robotic vacuum to clean the house is usually a matter of setting a timer or pressing a start button -- but what if you could just ask it to get to work? If you happen to own an Amazon Echo and a Neato Botvac Connected robot vacuum, now you can. Today the company announced that its Wifi-connected vacuum cleaner will take commands from Amazon Alexa. The feature is extremely straightforward, and features just two commands: start and stop.
Neato's latest robot vacuums are much more affordable
If you like the concept of Neato's WiFi-linked robot vacuum but feel that $699 is too rich for your blood, you're in luck. Neato is unveiling two more affordable Botvac models, the $399/£399 D3 Connected (above) and $599/£549 D5 Connected, that promise WiFi and the core cleaning features at better prices. The D3 still has mobile app access and laser-guided navigation, but trims costs through a lower-capacity battery, a basic filter and fewer features -- you won't get the high-end model's boundary markers, eco/turbo modes, manual drive, spiral and side brushes or on-robot scheduling. Move up to the D5 and you'll get the battery, brush and filter upgrades as well as boundary markers. Also, only the D5 has in-app cleaning stats and a Find Me locator right now. Those are coming to the Botvac Connected flagship later, but won't be available at all for the D3.
Neato's robot vacuum is the first with smartwatch control
We're not sure how useful controlling a robotic vacuum from a smartwatch is, but there's no debating the bragging rights. Neato has revealed that its $699/£550 Botvac Connected is the first robotic vacuum you can control with an Apple Watch or Android Wear device. As long as you're connected to the same WiFi network, you can start and stop the cleaning program and receive status notifications from your wrist, without even needing to set down your drink.
Neato's new vacuum is cheaper than Roomba, but more trouble
In the robot vacuum wars, Neato has made a name for itself by developing cheaper, laser-guided devices that are just as effective as iRobot's Roombas. In fact, while Roombas have been bouncing around walls for years with no real intelligence (something that's finally changed with the camera-equipped Roomba 980), Neato's lasers have helped its devices wisely navigate your floors since they debuted in 2010. Now with the BotVac Connected ($700), Neato also has a robot vacuum that's controlled by a mobile app. But while it does a decent job of cleaning floors, I found it to be much more trouble than Roomba's latest entry.
Neato robot vacuums get better brushes for your filthy floor
Having a robotic vacuum scoot around your home sucking up filth isn't all that novel. But if your current rolling dust buster just isn't cutting it, Neato just updated its D-series line. The Botvac D75, D80 and D85 all sport the new spiral blade brush that Neato says offers the same cleaning power but much quieter than previous models. The vacuums still use a laser-guided system to clean floors without wandering around in a circle and squared edge helps it get into corners. Thanks to a new design, the guidance system disk no longer looks like a a Play-Doh lid. The Botvac D75 starts $499 while the D80 and D85 with quieter brushes and high performance filters will set you back $549 and $599 respectively.
Neato lets you take notes, send messages, and more from your iOS 8 widgets
For writers and business minded users everywhere, the iPhone is as much a note taking tool as it is a phone, web, or email device. The only hitch is having to open an app every time you want to take a note, though thanks to a new iOS 8 widget this everyday task can be done much faster. Neato allows you to write a note and save it to Dropbox or Evernote, send it out as mail, a text, or tweet, without ever opening an app. The widget appears in your Notification Center drop down menu with a simple swipe of your finger. Neato simulates the iOS keyboard for quick typing, and to keep things kosher with the Apple developer regulations for widgets. The only hitch is that learning to type on the smaller than normal keyboard takes a bit of practice. Currently Neato is available a free download from the iTunes store, so grab it now before you have to pony up your hard earned dollars.
Neato Robotics' XV Essential vacuum brings affordable automation to Walmart
There's something to be said for taking the easy way out. Neato Robotics figured out how to get the price down on its well reviewed, but slightly pricey XV Signature line of autonomous vacuums, by simply swapping in a cheaper brush and filter. Thus was was the XV Essential. Under the hood it's the same exact machine as the $400 Signature model, but thanks to the plain plastic blade bush and flat filter, it comes in a cool $30 cheaper. That might not sound like much, but shoppers at Walmart (where the XV Essential will launch exclusively in March) are sure to appreciate the additional value. Otherwise you still get the impressive laser guidance system and smart charging function that tells the little sucker to return home when its battery is running low, then picks right back up where it left off once it's fully juiced. There are, of course, trade offs. The ridged filter in the Signature model is much better at capturing pet dander and dust, for one. Plus the purely plastic-bladed Essential is quite noisy on hardwood floors -- it easily overpowered the din of Bluetooth speakers, overzealous PR reps and drunken bloggers at this evening's Pepcom event. Before you go, check out the gallery below.
Neato Robotics' XV-21 vacuum sucks up pet hair and allergens, looks like a new-age SNES
Sure, iRobot may have a strong presence in the impending robot apocolypse world of autonomous vacuum cleaners, but lest we forget about the others like Neato Robotics. The company's introducing the retro-futuristic XV-21 Pet and Allergy Vacuum for those of us wanting rid our domains of sniffle-inducing dust particles. Although the XV-21 looks similar to last year's XV-12, it features a new filter for improved airflow and suction, which Neato claims will catch three-times as many tiny bits around your domain as its normal kit. If that wasn't enough, the cleaner is also loaded with newly developed bristled brush to aid in sweeping up the likes of pet hair while keeping its noise levels to a minimum. If you're ready to leave the cleaning to the bots, this little guy is set to hit shelves in late April for $429 alongside a $60 Pet and Allergy kit packed with the filter (30 bucks on its own) and brush. Current Neato owners shouldn't fret either, as the add-ons are compatible with all of the company's vacuums, requiring only an upgrade to the latest firmware via USB. You'll find the full details in the press release after the break.
Neato's XV-12 robot vacuum cleans your floors dressed in white for $400
It cleans, it's hackable and has a laser guidance system -- what more could you ask of your Neato Robotics vacuum cleaner? You want it to assassinate those dust bunnies while dressed in white? Well then, you'll want to check out the company's latest offering, the XV-12. This successor to the XV-11 automated sucker doesn't appear to add much in the features department, but it does get a shiny new coat of "misty white" paint and is available exclusively through Target for $400. The big selling points here are still the constantly updating room maps that the XV series creates using lasers mounted on top and what the company claims is the "strongest suction available in any robotic vacuum cleaner." For some more details check out the PR after the break.
Neato XV-11 robot vacuum gets its very own open source LIDAR hack
There's nothing like a little bounty to light a fire under a group of open source fanatics, is there? We saw this principle applied recently when Adafruit offered up cold, hard cash for an Open Source Kinect driver, and now one enterprising reader over at robotbox.net has gone and hacked the LIDAR unit on a Neato XV-11 robot vacuum -- and won $401 for the effort. What's this mean to you? Well, the gentleman (who goes by the nom de hack Hash79) can now read data sent from the optical ranging hardware on the vacuum to a PC. There has been a pretty enthusiastic group of hackers surrounding the device for a while now and now with a little hard work (and a $399 autonomous robot vacuum) you too can have a 360 degree scanning LIDAR with one degree accuracy and a 10Hz refresh rate. Pretty sweet, right? Video after the break.
Neato XV-11 robotic vacuum review
We've been waiting since December to get our hands on the Neato XV-11 robot vacuum. In preparation we steadfastedly refused to sweep up a single flake of dust, going on something of a cleaning strike until the thing finally hit retail. Of course, that wait was supposed to be a mere three month affair, and we've certainly gone that long without vacuuming before. The further six months of delays, however, left us questioning our resolve as Engadget HQ became less and less livable. Finally we've been able to unleash this smartypants vac onto our filthy floors, and all we can say is that it was well worth the wait. %Gallery-100101%
Neato XV-11 ships out next month, will assassinate dust bunnies for money
Let's face it, a geek's solution to keeping floors clean will typically involve either family members, robots, or a combination of both. For the latter two groups, we've got news that Neato's XV-11 is all set to start shipping this week, with retail and expanded online availability by mid-July. The XV-11's biggest selling point is a laser-based room mapping system that will theoretically allow it to avoid objects other robo vacuums would detect only by impact. That should also deliver more efficient route planning for the little sucker, while the saved up energy will be channeled into what Neato claims is "the world's most powerful robotic vacuum system." Whether such brazen claims are enough to merit your $399, we leave up to you. Sure looks like a mean machine, though.
Neato's XV-11 robot vacuum gets the hands-on treatment
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. %Gallery-81901%
Neato's XV-11 robot vacuum maps out your floor for efficiency, doesn't ask for weekends off
Heads-up, Roomba -- your worst nightmare just waltzed into this space we like to call "reality," and it looks fully capable of giving your dirt sucking powers a run for their money. Neato Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup, has just come clean with its very first home service product: the XV-11 robotic vacuum cleaner. The device is the first to sport the company's own Room Positioning System, which utilizes an array of sensors to "intelligently map the entire floor space to choose the most effective path to clean the whole room, avoiding most obstacles other robots can only detect by impact." It's engineered to be used daily, whisking away dirt as you mind your own business and take even the smallest things in life for granted. We're told that it'll be cleaning up debris at CES early next month, though consumers at large won't be able to snag one until February when it hits shelves for $399. Video's just past the break. %Gallery-80422%
