Today I will tell you about the most advanced robot vacuum cleaner in the Abir line. The ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner comes with a lidar (for laser navigation). And an auxiliary TOF sensor, which allows you to accurately draw a map of the area to be cleaned and quickly track changes on it for the most efficient cleaning.
The Abir X8 robot vacuum cleaner comes with a powerful and reliable Japanese motor. It provides good suction power. Accordingly, it ensures the quality of cleaning. In addition, the robot can carry out wet cleaning with the regulation of the intensity of the water supply. X8 is a model with advanced artificial intelligence and a well-thought-out application with which you can select or limit areas for cleaning, put up virtual walls, adjust the suction power and perform other actions.
The ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner also supports wireless updates and speaks seven languages, including Russian. I have seen many different models of cleaning robots, and I can confidently say that the Abir X8 is now # 1 in my ranking. He is in no way inferior to the people’s leader Roborock S6, and in some places, even surpasses him! And at the same time, it costs significantly less.
Navigation and artificial intelligence
- Laser navigation system Lidar + SLAM navigation + TOF boundary detectors + mechanical sensors. Radar range from 5cm to 8m. Obstacle detection in real-time, the robot scans and maps objects, updating the situation every 3-4 seconds.
- Height trap protection, wire winding protection, hair winding protection on brushes, fall protection
- Building maps and storing them in memory with subsequent updating when changes are made. It is possible to switch between different maps.
- Automatic return to base at low charge and cleaning from the same place after 80% charge is reached.
Features :
- Japanese NIDEC brushless motor with maximum suction force up to 2500Pa, high static pressure air duct, V-shaped main brush, and variable speed side brushes.
- Large 600 ml trash can + 350 ml electric pump water tank.
- Three modes of operation in cleaning mode: quiet, standard, and powerful, and three levels of water supply: weak, standard, and strong.
- The 3200 mAh battery provides up to 2 hours of continuous cleaning or 120 square meters.
- Noise level 50-65 dB (depending on the cleaning mode)
ABIR X8 Vacuum CleanerUnboxing:
In addition to instructions for the robot, there are small manuals for installing and cleaning tanks, as well as instructions for installing and configuring the application. Everything is in English, but Russian versions can also be downloaded in electronic form.
Under the robot, I found such accessories and spare parts: a tank for dust and debris (the water tank is already installed in the robot), a “house” for recharging, a power supply, a remote control, a spare cloth (one more on the water tank), a spare HEPA filter (another one in the trash can), two sets of side brushes and a cleaning tool.
The floor washer has a water inlet, which is closed with a plug. The water does not flow out of the nozzle by gravity, and you do not have to worry that if you do not remove the nozzle, then all the water will pour out overnight and flood the floor. Nevertheless, it is advisable to immediately remove the rag for washing and drying because the moisture in the rag itself will not go anywhere, and this is not very good for parquet/laminate.
Abir X8 Vacuum Cleaner Filters:
The main cleaning nozzle has a lid, behind which is a HEPA filter for filtering small particles and a primary filter for filtering out dust.
Both attachments have a waste container. The main nozzle has a 600 ml waste bin. This is quite a lot, and daily cleaning allows you not to even look there for a week. But more curiously, the wet cleaning nozzle also has a trash compartment! The fact is that while cleaning the floors, the robot continues to rotate the V-shaped side brushes, collecting debris and hair mechanically. It turns out such an electric broom mode. Sweeps and immediately wipe the floors. Well, if before that you also vacuumed, then the floors will sparkle with cleanliness!
Standard microfiber cloth, fastened with Velcro. There is a spare one: while one was washed, use the second. Naturally, there is nothing in the main tank on the backside. You cannot wash the tanks with water because a motor is located inside one (it can be seen through a semi-transparent case), and inside the other, there is an electric pump.
Water Tank:
The markings on the water tank are only up to 300 ml, but you can pour it into the eyeballs, and then there will be the promised 350 ml. It takes me about 200 – 250 ml in maximum water supply mode for a two-room apartment with a kitchen and a large corridor.
Charging and Docking Station:
The docking station for recharging the robot is outwardly quite standard. Its legs are very tenacious, and when the robot returns to recharge, the docking station remains in place and does not “stick” throughout the apartment. Power supply for 19V with a maximum current of 0.6A. Charging is quite long: from 0% to 100% it takes about 6 hours, but it absolutely does not matter, because only 24% is spent on a 2-room apartment + another 11% is spent on its own washing.
The dock has a power indicator – a small green LED on the top.
The main way to control the robot is through the app. There are statistics and more functions, settings. An alternative control method is a remote control. It will be useful for older people who find it difficult to understand the application and all its bells and whistles. I just pressed a button, and cleaning started.
People who are far from technology find it easier to understand the purpose of several buttons than to study all the subtleties of the program, and not everyone uses smartphones. Using the remote control, you can start or stop cleaning, adjust the suction power, start local cleaning at a certain place and manually send the robot where necessary (by pressing the corresponding arrows).
Well, and a tool for cleaning the robot: a brush for cleaning filters from dust, a knife for cutting off the hair that has been wound around the brush.
ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner Design:
Let’s take a look at the design of the robot. A small yellow insert between the bumper and the body must be removed before starting work. You also need to remove all films covering the glossy plastic elements.
The design is classic and identical across the entire line of Abir robots. The design differences are minimal: the ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner has a lidar, the X6 has a camera instead, and the base X5 has nothing. The pattern is similar in this case. It looks good and partially masks the dust that inevitably appears during operation. In principle, the plastic, although glossy, looks good. The main thing is not to touch it with your hands because the prints will be visible. But the dust is not so noticeable and can be easily erased with a dry cloth.
ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner Sensors:
The ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner is the tidiest robot vacuum cleaner I’ve come across. Thanks to the Lidar and the additional TOF sensor, he clearly sees furniture and almost never touches it with his bumper. He does not hammer on the closet as insane but calmly stops next to him while scooping out the debris from under it with his brushes.
In very rare cases, he still touches the furniture with a bumper, if, for example, it is the leg of a table or chair, in order to go around it as much as possible and not miss the uncleaned area. For this, a rubber gasket is provided on the bumper, and all touches pass quite smoothly and without noise.
But the most important thing is in the “tower”, this is Lidar – a system for detecting objects and their distance to them using a laser. Rotating, the system constantly monitors the environment and quickly makes corrections to the map to change the cleaning algorithm.
Already a couple of seconds after the start, the robot sees the entire room and starts cleaning consciously, first determines the area of ?? work and then systematically removes it, after which it moves on to the next area. By the way, a mechanism is built into the tower that protects the robot from getting stuck in tight spaces. When you press on the tower, a click is heard, which is a signal for the robot that it is better not to go further and come back.
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Battery specifications:
3200-mAh at 16.6V, because we have 4 18650 batteries here, which are connected in series. Capacity – 42.92 Wh.
The battery is connected via a 2-pin connector, and over time, when the capacity decreases from natural degradation, it can be easily replaced by yourself.
Everything is fine with the maintainability of the vacuum cleaner. All the main units are separate and can be easily replaced on their own. Need to replace the right wheel motor? Not a problem! We unscrew the cover, disconnect the connector and disconnect the spring.
A V-shaped brush perfectly picks up debris and wool from the floor. If there are pets – I appreciate it. It can be easily removed for cleaning from coiled hair. If there are women in the dwelling, then you will have to do this periodically.
Application:
Now let’s take a look at the application because you can perform many different actions with it. Well, since many people have difficulties at this point, I will describe everything step by step for the initial connection. I performed all these actions when I set the robot to charge and recharged the battery a little.
- Install the WeBack application from the market, register in it, and add a new device to the application (press +)
- A camera with a scanner opens points it at the QR code to connect the robot
- Choose your WiFi, but always in the 2.4 GHz range (5GHz is not supported)
- Then press the power button and hold it for a few seconds until the beep sounds.
- If everything is done correctly, the robot automatically connects to the application and establishes a connection.
The application will check the firmware version and, if necessary, suggest an update. The update is automatic and is carried out via WiFi. Until the end of the process, the robot cannot be turned off. As you can see, nothing complicated.
Cleaning algorithm:
Now I’ll tell you about the cleaning algorithm, the first launch of the robot. He scans the room and immediately sees its borders, part of the corridor, and even the balcony (he cannot enter it because of the high threshold of 5 cm). The robot conventionally outlines a section for itself, which includes most of the room and part of the corridor.
First, ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner goes around the site along the perimeter, then cleans the area in zigzags. Then it removes the second part of the room and moves on, highlighting a new area – the second room (not completely) and almost the entire remaining corridor. Over the next passage, he cleans up the rest of the second room and the rest of the corridor. A table, chairs, and a bicycle are not a problem. The ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner goes around only obstacles that he cannot physically pass.
Next, the robot goes to the kitchen, cleans it up, and, when finished, returns to the backroom for charging. There are no questions about navigation. The robot moves as if it had done it more than once. He knows exactly where to go and how then they will return home by the shortest route. He spent 35 minutes on the entire cleaning and 24% of the charge.
Next, the robot goes to the kitchen, cleans it up, and, when finished, returns to the backroom for charging. There are no questions about navigation. The robot moves as if it had done it more than once. He knows exactly where to go and how then they will return home by the shortest route. He spent 35 minutes on the entire cleaning and 24% of the charge.
ABIR X8 Wet Cleaning:
the next step, I immediately carried out wet cleaning. The algorithm is similar, but the washing itself is somewhat different from what I’m used to seeing in other robots. If usually robots just walk the entire area of ??the apartment, dragging a damp cloth behind them, then X8 does it like a human. He moves in Y-shaped movements – forward and slightly to the right – backward – forward and slightly to the left.
That is, he rubs the floor several times in one place, which undoubtedly improves the quality of cleaning. He even was able to wipe off small stains from food in the kitchen. Of course, this affects the cleaning time, it lasted 56 long minutes, but he removed it no worse than a man. He spent 12% of the charge. That is, in total, it took 1.5 hours to vacuum and wash the floors in a 2-room apartment and 36% of the charge.
And there is a straight break in the brain – garbage in the corresponding compartment. The fact is that during wet cleaning, Abir X8 Vacuum Cleaner continues to work with side brushes and a V-shaped brush, working as an electric broom. That is, he sweeps and rakes in the trash and immediately mops the floors. Not bad. All the time that the robot was working, I was resting and had time to watch a movie. The noise did not interfere at all. I set the suction power to medium and the water flow rate to maximum.
Additional Features:
Let’s take a look at the additional features in the app. You can save your cards and replace them if necessary. How can this be useful? Well, for example, you have a 2-story house. A map is made for each floor and then simply switches when cleaning on the desired floor. Is that great? Sure! After all, most robots do not have such an opportunity, and you have to draw a map anew on each floor, and this is very limiting in some moments.
For example, you want to send a robot to a specific room to clean a specific area. If the map is redrawn, then this option becomes unavailable. And here, you just select the desired map and indicate where the robot needs to move. He quickly navigates the terrain and begins to move to the goal in the shortest possible way. You can also select a specific area for cleaning by simply highlighting it (green square) or put a virtual wall (red line) that the robot cannot cross.
You can also select a specific area where the robot cannot go for cleaning. Let’s imagine that you have a pet, and somewhere in the corner, there is his house or, even worse, a litter box (toilet). Mark this area, and the robot will go around it as if it were a physical obstacle. What else is interesting? According to the cleaning power, there are quiet (you can calmly watch TV or read), normal and powerful (important for cleaning carpets). According to the water supply rate: there are three levels, but I always put it on the maximum to say that it emits a lot of moisture – I will not say. A 2-room apartment takes up to 250 ml at the maximum water flow rate.
ABIR X8 Vacuum Cleaner Our Verdict:
To sum up, I can only characterise the Abir X8 from the positive side. It cleans much better than vacuum cleaners with VSLAM camera navigation, not to mention simple models with SLAM. Lidar really opens the robot’s eyes, and he begins to behave in a completely different way. The work of the intellect does not raise questions. The robot systematically cleans the room, responding to constant changes in the environment and online correcting its behaviour.
I will praise the application for its good functionality, usability, and simplicity. It’s user-friendly, and it’s easy to figure out the nuances. I also note the good suction power and the new Y mode for wet cleaning. And what is in contrast? The price, is undoubtedly higher than that of models without Lidar. But there are a couple of points here. Firstly, the price tag of more eminent competitors is even noticeably higher,
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