LG Hom Bot

 It may not be awfully smart, but it is hardworking and cleans your room without a fuss

Yes, another home cleaning robot. But this one you should be able to buy at a showroom in your local market. At first brush, it is red-coloured and speaks in a female voice. So, before you pick it up, you must be okay with your house being swept and mopped by a lady in red.

The Home Bot uses two cameras—one on top, another at floor level—and five ultrasonic sensors to map your home. These sensors ensure that the Bot always knows where it is in the house and does not skip any part of the room being cleaned. To clean tricky corners and edges, it uses a micro-fibre mop and side brushes (which look like rotating wings).

When you switch on the Bot for the first time, it zigzags and maps your house. Make sure you leave all the doors wide open so that it can record your floorplan. After this exercise, you can choose to have your floor cleaned in either zigzag mode or cell-by-cell. For dirty spots and gunk spills, there is also the spot mode.
The lady in red is not loud at all. With a noise level of 60 dB, you would hear it only if it’s working right next to you. It can also be programmed to do its cleaning job before you wake up or after you leave for office.

There is a remote control set to let you pick service modes. It can finish a medium-sized room in about 15 minutes, and its bin needs to be cleaned at least once every week. It has a ‘home’ button too, which directs the Bot back to its charging base. 

The challenge I faced was that even after charging it overnight, the Bot quit in about 50 minutes, and there was still a lot of cleaning left to do. The other challenge you will face is uneven floors. It slides easily onto a lower-level floor, but it can’t climb—not even half an inch. So you may want to be around while it works. Else, it may simply freeze with the floor left only partially done.

Overall, though, I loved the Bot. It whisked up a dead cockroach as well as a hair off my floor. It isn’t cheap, but if your maid is acting pricey, just introduce her to the competition.

About The Author

Gagandeep Singh Sapra