Techtastich put the obode A8+ to the test with a home made labyrinth
Watch how the A8+ handled it here, (subtitles available)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dymUP7lzGw&ab_channel=Techtastisch-Experimenteund3DDruck
Here's what was said (transcribed from German)
Today we're going to take a look at another aspect of robot vacuums.
This video is brought to you by obode, because it's already become a meme that I, as an ADHD person, extremely celebrate vacuum robots and honestly could never run a household without them. And it's also a meme that vacuum robots are the financial pillar of the knowledge videos here. After all, the technology is incredibly exciting and that's why obode sent me their obode A8 plus so I could take a closer look at it.
I've already seen how a robot vacuum cleaner works, but over the years there are always new features, such as the suction station, which is part of the obode A8 plus.
That's the plus: the suction station is the plus. There it is then both charged and vacuumed, which as I mentioned before brings the great advantage that the robot vacuum cleaner can always bring its full performance, because the container in the vacuum remains quite empty again and again and yes of course he sucks up everything very satisfactorily. And yes suction robots can nowadays even suck up things, what a technique.
And you also really don't have to worry about emptying the container very often and the tower of the A8 plus even works with common vacuum cleaner bags, which makes changing filters unnecessary because the bag is the filter and you then actually only have to change it about every 30 days.
But what actually interests me most here is how the robot vacuum cleaner can actually find its suction station. How does he know where he has to go, no matter where he is in the apartment.
So in itself, the robot works with about 30 smart sensors that then give the robot input so that then the big if this then that reaction aka AI can process that input.
We have made this metal think and so for example the robot has two line lasers to avoid bumping into objects in the first place. These circumstances are then improved by creating a spatial map.
One object he loves to bump into is the suction station. The position of the suction station can be queried by a Bluetooth signal, so he knows its rough position and can calculate the way to it. This position is then also entered in the map. This metal really thinks. And the most efficient cleaning routes are also calculated, by the way, which lets him save significantly more time and thus energy. Once it has arrived at its location, it then searches for the infrared signals that the station emits with infrared LEDs. This then enables fine orientation. A similar technique was used by the sensor bar of the Wii and the Wii remote control back then. You've probably always wondered how the cursor works. If it is really so good to find the station, I also want to do my own experiment, which is why I built this labyrinth here. We'll just see how the robot does in this one.
If this robot really knows the room, it will find its station quite easily. But it is hidden in a labyrinth. Means, here it can make a wrong turn, here it can't get through, here is the right way, where it can make a wrong turn again, then it can make a wrong turn here into this bigger room and then here again and then it can slowly find the target, but only if it can see around the corner.
Means, I let him also now first in the labyrinth suck, so that he also for this creates a room map and can orient himself later in this. If it makes it then without once wrong turn immediately into the station, we know that the technology works.
Now it seems to have once always driven off the whole edge. The improvised maze is still standing and now once he's sucked that through, the actual experiment starts.
Okay, it starts. It just finished cleaning. He now has a map of the room. Here he could take a wrong turn, but he didn't. Again, he could come to me. Perfect. Oh my god, this is so satisfying to see.
What are you doing now? Here is the station. I can't believe it. We really got this metal thinking. Okay, to be fair: on the first try, the robot actually only makes it if it just sucked directly. Now it landed back here, and that's where I started it from.
Thanks again to obode for sponsoring knowledge content on youtube.
