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Comment by ZiiS | Hacker News Reader

The modern vSLAM robots with mops and swing brushes for edges may seem ridiculously complex, but they do work well and a much cheaper than the original Roombas. I think this more proved that software is easier than hardware. (i.e. complex vSLAM is cheaper than a bigger battery needed for less optimal routing)

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> software is easier than hardware

Software is certainly easier to replicate that hardware, 1M copies cost almost exactly the same as 1 copy :)

Risking this turning into some sort of ‘Wired Top 5’, but what is the go-to robot vacuum? My Roomba has become a hatefully little chaos monkey. The house small and has wooden floors, so it shouldn’t be too tough.

Just check out Vacuum Wars on YouTube to find the best based on your own criteria

I'm a fan of the roborock S8 (now the S10 i guess)

It's a vacuum + mop combo which imo is way better for hard floors

Does it choose based on the surface, or just let both run all the time? (Mop on carpet doesn't sound ideal)

They have an ultrasonic sensor to measure the type of floor and will not pump water when carpet is detected

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz6U9QkXn5I Check this for a short overview of the available robovac mop technologies - modern roller mop equipped units have ultrasonic carpet sensors and will actually cover the entire mop to avoid getting carpets wet.

Seconding Roborock - we have a mid range one and it's effective and a huge step up in smartness from my old Samsung. I love being able to dispatch it to one or two different rooms and walk away knowing that it will get the job done.

As a bonus, there are open source drop in replacements for the mfg's cloud service so you can self host your floor maps and stats, if that's your jam. (this isn't roborock exclusive though).

Can you link them?

It's not valetudo is it?

Valetudo is what I was referring to. For the vacuum, it's the Roborock Q5+ back from 2023. Not top of the line, but it works well on our mixed hardood+ rug floors.

Anything valetudo supports is a good choice. Roborock has a semi official API that you can use to get ok levelers of integration with home assistant but valetudo is the gold standard.

I think this was the missing piece from the article. The simple behaviors enabled interest in a market, but at the end of the day, the original Roomba didn't work well. It's cool to romanticize the simple behaviors, but like they miss things.

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