If such robots take our jobs, we don’t have to be afraid of the future!

Introductory

The Roborock S50 is not the first automatic vacuum cleaner I see. I looked at more during operation, but I wasn’t happy with them. Not only because of the cleaning capabilities, but also because I imagined a robotic vacuum cleaner to actually have some intelligence. I didn’t expect an android, but at least enough to clean the apartment as quickly and efficiently as possible with the built-in sensors and sensors and the vacuum cleaner program. In contrast, I found that most vacuum cleaners had roughly as much intelligence as my childhood elemental toys, which, if they went into something, they turned a wheel under them and continued their way in a different direction, and if there were no obstacles, they went pretty straight down the road. on which I started them.

So I was basically skeptical when the word drifted somewhere on robotic vacuum cleaners. I felt this was the future, but I felt it wasn’t time to invest in such a structure. Then came an opportunity if I wanted to try out the latest, superest, most intelligent, most upright vacuum cleaner from Xiaomi’s workshop, and I thought if Xiaomi couldn’t convince me that a robotic vacuum cleaner had a raison d’être, then no one else would.

Eventually, I arrived at Xiaomi’s new smart machine, designed for one of the Chinese manufacturer’s sub-brands, Roborock. The novelty thus did not get the expected Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner, the English name became Roborock Sweep One. This new vacuum cleaner has much better features than its predecessor. Performance has been improved, cleaning functions have been improved and the built-in sensors have also improved a lot.

Packaging and exterior

The vacuum cleaner came in a large, bulky box. When we open the lid, we don't see anything from it yet, but we can find a bag with the instructions for use (in English), as well as find the accessories, the water tank, the spare dust filter and the like. What we can't find, however, is the remote control. This, let's say, didn't come as a surprise, as I knew that Xiaomi's robot would get on my phone, inside the Mi Home app, and knowing how well this app worked I knew I wouldn't need anything other than the phone to use it.

However, sooner or later, the vacuum cleaner will be unveiled, and next to it we will find the dock, as well as a large milk glass transparent plastic sheet, which quickly turns out to be your “garage”, that is, the dock accessory that the machine will park back on after cleaning.

The Roborock S50 doesn’t look too surprising on the outside, it looks like all round robotic vacuum cleaners except for one thing. Round, about 5 inches tall, so nothing extra. What we find is a discrepancy is the gunpowder-looking formation at the top, which not only looks, but also essentially, is where Roborock shoots the laser beams, thus mapping out our apartment.

As I wrote above, we can basically control the vacuum cleaner with our phone, but for safety’s sake, we also got three buttons so that if it attacks a cat or turtle, we can stop it quickly. If that’s not enough, there’s voice control too, though, we need to learn Chinese for that. On the cover there is also an openable lid, below which there is a dust container and a small brush with which we can clean the filter. A blade has also been kindly applied for this, so that we can cut the hairs wrapped on the roller brush so that we can clean it more easily. Anyone who has ever tried to take long hairs off such a brush will know that this little kindness on the part of Xiaomi becomes one of the most appreciable positives if you want to clean and clean your vacuum cleaner.

Turning the vacuum cleaner upside down, we find the usual things, a large roller brush to transfer the dirt to the tank, a small side brush to direct the dirt under the vacuum cleaner, the structure to the big brush, and here are the oversized wheels.

The water tank can also be mounted on the bottom of the vacuum cleaner, which is a novelty compared to its predecessor, it could not be washed up. According to the description, the vacuum cleaner is able to wash with this tank for about 40-50 minutes, compared to which the tank is surprisingly small. It was so tiny that out of curiosity I even measured how much water could fit in it. Well, not quite a deci and a half. How can you wash with so much water for so long? I will reveal this in the next chapter.

Operation, news

As I wrote in the introduction, I usually didn’t have too much confidence in robotic vacuum cleaners. However, the Xiaomi vacuum cleaner caught my attention as soon as the first more detailed descriptions arrived. No less than 13 sensors are placed in the machine, which are responsible for mapping the apartment so that you do not knock the legs of delicate furniture or fall down, say, on the stairs, if there are any inside the apartment.

After switching on, the laser sensor on the roof starts working immediately and maps the space around it in 360 degrees. You can clearly see in the phone app that you can't see everywhere when you start, since the furniture covers most of the apartment, at least at Roborock's "eye level". However, wherever you look, you can already see, for example, the legs of tables and other furniture.

After departure, the vacuum cleaner walks through the walls of the room, then plans the cleaning route in real time to get to the end as soon as possible with as few detours as possible. In the phone application, you can see in the pictures that you have divided the room into two parts. There’s nothing in the middle there, he simply decided it would be best to clean one half of the room first and then the other.

I would add that we can even set this in this way, because on the phone we can designate cleaning zones in the program, which the machine will then walk by itself and clean in a nice line within the specified boundaries. You can also buy self-adhesive cleaning limit strips for this vacuum cleaner, but you can also solve them without them with the manually set areas.

The manufacturer says water cleaning is one of the most important innovations. For the system to work, the sample was taken from nature, the vacuum cleaner uses a bionic wet traction system, whatever that means. To be sure, the floor-wiped cloth is attached to the bottom of the water tank and can perform wet cleaning with the contents of the water tank for up to 45-60 minutes. The water is sucked back by the machine and filtered through a Teflon-coated filter that is washable, replacing it once a year.

Phone App

I’m already using some Xiaomi smart devices, so I know, or at least expected, that the program that comes with the vacuum cleaner will be just as advanced and easy to use as the other apps. I’m not selling a baggy cat, anyway, it doesn’t really come to mind a moment I could tie into.

The first step is to install the Mi Home application, into which you can insert the vacuum cleaner as a new device. Fortunately, like all other Xiaomi smart stuff, you can create an icon for the home page, you can access the vacuum cleaner directly from there.

You can start cleaning on the home page. Below you can choose to select a part where you need to vacuum, select one or even several areas at once that you want to clean or start a complete vacuum where the whole apartment will be cleaned out. The fourth button, the dock, only makes sense when the cleaning has started, so we can send the robot into place.

Additional settings can be called up by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner. Here you can set timed cleaning, the strength of the vacuum cleaner from four options, which of course also affects the hum of the machine.

Among the settings is a carpet mode, which, when clicked, switches the machine to a higher power level than carpets. I don’t really understand what that means, I mean, if it’s not turned on, so it’s worth clicking through right away.

We also find two ways to control manually. On one we can control the vacuum cleaner with buttons, on the other we have a virtual joystick. I’ve tried it, it works, but beyond scaring the cat with it I don’t see much point.

We have a menu item where we can see the logging of the cleanings, and one where we can follow the wear of the brushes and filters. Here, in theory, we can also order a replacement. If you need to, I'll see what the prices are, but I could easily order the accessories from Gearbest as well.

Overall, then, the phone program is expected to be first-rate. It is easy to use, well transparent and if you do not speak English you will still get along with it.

Experiences

In every article about something, they do all sorts of tests with vacuum cleaners. They sprinkle flour, rice, stuff like that. So my article isn’t going to be worth anything because I didn’t do that, I just let the vacuum cleaner free in the apartment. The experience is good, but there are some oddities as well.

Most importantly, the vacuum cleaner really absorbs, you gather everything. From the dust scattered by my cat to pieces of food with everything and no leftovers. After vacuuming, the stray cartilage disappeared, the hairs from the bathroom — even from the carpet! —And when I looked at the dust container after the second cleaning, it contained so much dirt that it couldn’t be shaken out. Like when a high-performance vacuum cleaner fills up its dust bag and almost only hands can get out the clogged dirt. Here, the question was decided whether such a robotic vacuum cleaner has a place with us. Of course it is!

Anyway, it is very interesting to observe the machine during operation. As I wrote above, he uses a laser to map the apartment, including the legs of the coffee table. While working, when he reaches the table, he slows down, stopping almost completely, and then touching his foot very gently. He then goes around making a nice regular circle and then continues on the other side of the leg in the line he came from. if you look at the screenshots taken during the cleaning, you will see a flower pattern in the upper left corner. Well, the legs of the chair I'm sitting on at work. It seems that the vacuum cleaner is capable of quite complex forms of movement to clean it as completely as possible.

I wrote above that you plan the route in real time at the start of the cleaning. This is good because you won’t be embarrassed if you get a chair or a table away, but it’s also bad because, for example, it would be nice to remember where the rug is. Because of the carpet mode, it sure detects, I tried, it really switched to a higher speed, but if so, why not avoid it when washing it, for example? Instead, we draw your attention not to use the MOP function on carpets.

What is certain is that the vacuum cleaner does not seem to work in such a way that when it hits a wall, it is obligatory to turn to the right and go back 20 inches, and then at the next wall it is only in the opposite direction. As far as possible, he tries to go to a place only once, and if he accidentally has to go through a place he has already cleared, he cuts through the shortest possible way.

The first time I started I watched in admiration as he maneuvered. If a piece of furniture isn’t in the line he’s moving in, he won’t go for it, slowing it down and turning sideways next to it. He doesn't hit his legs and nothing like that. In the beginning, the sensor works so gently that it stops even when it senses the blackout curtain. This is a disadvantage, let's say, and I'll talk about it in the end.

Of course, I also tried mopping, as this is probably the biggest novelty compared to its predecessor, and anyway, the cheaper machines I know don’t have that capability. Well, the thing is, the thing seems to be working. He was able to wash with the little water I could see from the glittering floor after cleaning. After a smooth cleaning, of course, the dust disappears, but the floor somehow remains matte, so a tiny bit of dust remains on it. But after washing it was as nice shiny as Solomon's t..e, so if not every cleaning, but once a week it's worth snapping the water tank to the bottom of the machine.

By the end, some good advice

The Roborock S50 can push through a threshold of up to 2 inches. That’s true, but interestingly not always. I have a threshold that is the same height on both sides, yet, the machine goes out on the outside, it doesn’t come in. It’s like you can come over the doorstep and then stop and stay outside. So for the first time, don’t leave me alone, there may be such galibas.

It also happens that he goes into the bathroom with us, makes a small circle, comes out, and then doesn’t go back. I think it can be something software buck, but it’s annoying. Let’s just say the good thing about it is that when I start working in the morning, I tend to start, and if I experience this when I get to my workplace, I get nicely back into the bath through the net. So there's no big para.

What’s worth noting is that the 2-cent threshold is okay, but we have an openable, tubular chair. The kind that also has two horizontal tubes on the floor, these legs are actually. Well, this tube isn't 2 inches high, but it's just a tube, so the vacuum cleaner hangs nicely on it, then neither forward nor backward.

It is basically very good that the vacuum cleaner can fight itself out of almost any situation. It doesn’t bother him with a coiled cord, but neither does it, for example, if he sneaks under the couch, the bottom of which slopes backwards. In this case, the machine would easily get stuck if it did not have a sensor that monitors that the vacuum cleaner is depressed to this ground. If so, it will stop immediately and start out.

So, experience shows that in, say, 95 percent of cases, Roborock takes the barriers of the apartment without a hitch. However, it is there, i.e. 5 percent, but we can experience this during the first cleaning. We can then ensure that the vacuum cleaner can work without any problems even in our absence. To stay on my own example, I close the room from which he refuses to come back for some reason, and I fold the chair and put it away when I leave home.

By the end of the article, there is one more thing left, and that is the price. The Roborock S50 is not cheap, it can currently be purchased for roughly $ 500, or 120 forints. However, this cost is relative, as we would leave much more money at the cash register for a machine with such knowledge in a domestic store. It’s no coincidence that the Roborock S50 and its predecessor, a machine that’s a little dumber, a little louder, unable to mop, but already equipped with a rotating laser sensor like the S50, are also extremely popular. Fortunately, getting accessories for your machine is easy, so you won’t have a problem buying a filter or a brush.

If you’re thinking about getting a robotic vacuum cleaner, now, after a few weeks of robotics, I dare say you’re not going to regret it. Of course, it doesn't matter what you buy. If mopping is not important, I recommend this: Xiaomi Mi robotic vacuum cleaner, but if you think you may need this feature, feel free to recommend the Xiaomi Roborock S50 in the article, which you can find here: Xiaomi Roborock S50 (don't be afraid of the Chinese version, it also knows English, you only need to look at a converter for a few hundred forints for the charger, so you can plug it into a domestic socket!)

Or buy it here: Xiaomi Roborock S50 International version - It's cheaper here now!

Sign up for our coupon code newsletter and the latest promotions will arrive in your inbox every day: Coupon code newsletter

Watch our coupon code search page and see if there is a live promotion for the product you are looking at before each purchase: Chinese coupon code finder

If you are not an experienced shopper in Chinese stores, read our article and become a professional: So buy in major Chinese stores

Full specification