There are some things in life I will defend from the march of the robots. I have never owned a bread machine, for example, because I actually enjoy making my own bread. If I have a customer complaint, I’d rather deal with a person than an AI chatbot, regardless of how advanced the companies using them claim they are.
But there are plenty of things that I would be happy to delegate to automation, the boring tasks that none of us really enjoy.
I am living for the day they come up with an affordable robot that will sort through a load of laundry without any human intervention at all. In the absence of that, I’m happy to hand over the vacuuming and mopping of floors. The Sisyphean task is a particularly thankless one in a house with small children and a cat with a fondness for dancing across freshly washed tiles with muddy feet and paws.
At this point, the companies making the robot cleaners have overcome some of the main obstacles facing the devices. New sensors mean the robots can navigate around your home even if you decide to move some furniture. You can use their apps to control them from a distance or use virtual walls to ensure the vacuums stay clear of certain areas of your home.
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They can distinguish between hard floors and carpet, and adjust the cleaning accordingly. Some can even raise the mop out of the way so you don’t inadvertently end up with damp carpets.
But they still require a certain amount of human intervention. They can’t manage stairs yet, which is probably their biggest failing. They get snarled up in cables or small socks, and the small bins on board mean you have to empty them frequently to make sure they continue to pick up the dirt and dust instead of spreading it around your floors.
The last at least can be solved by opting for a robot with a base station that not only auto-empties the dust bin when it is full, but also looks after the mopping function. Minimal effort, maximum results.
That was one of the key things about the Homebot Glider. The combo robot vacuum and mop comes with a neat base station that effectively looks after the entire operation. It empties the dust bin on the vacuum, cleans the dual spinning mop pads, dries them and refills the water tank without its owners having to lift a finger.
There are no interruptions, no messing about with bins and no damp odours from mop pads forgotten on the machine.
If the device runs out of water, it will make its way back to the base station for refilling before continuing to clean. When the bin is full or the water tanks need attention, it will alert you through the Smartlife app – developed by Chinese smarthome company Tuya – and you can sort out what it needs in minutes.
Those spinning mop pads were reasonably good at dealing with tougher grime. While it doesn’t beat a good scrub, it kept most of the daily grime – muddy footprints included – in check. And when the robot detected the change in flooring, such as mats or other carpeted areas, it raised the mop pads.
The Glider has a decent navigation system, mapping the house quickly and effectively, although it occasionally wedged itself in the legs of the kitchen chairs. On those occasions it would need rescuing.
It was quieter than you expect, at least while it was cleaning. It is officially rated at less than 62dB, although the auto-empty function was enough to startle you if you weren’t expecting it, and the refilling and emptying of the water tank was a bit louder than felt necessary. But it felt like a small price to pay to not have to vacuum the room twice a day.
Good
If you are looking for a robot that lives up to its promises, the Glider is a good bet. Not only does it make a good job of cleaning hard floors and carpets, it will also look after most of the day-to-day maintenance itself. The base station is neat and the robot itself will deal with obstacles up to 20mm before it refuses to climb – meaning saddle boards between rooms aren’t an issue.
Bad
Occasionally the robot misjudged its size and wedged itself in a tight spot, requiring a rescue mission. Ordinarily, you would just set up a no-go zone, but this was under the kitchen table, so was a prime spot for cleaning after dinner.
Everything else
The app allows you to map up to four levels of your home, switching between maps quickly and easily. You can also set up no-go areas to keep it away from delicate parts of your home.
You can set a timer for the cleaning sessions, with a schedule for days of the week, and customise the cleaning for each room – how many times it mops, the level of water it uses, and so on.
Verdict
Hands-off cleaning that earns its price tag.
