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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 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%
