iRobot Roomba 880 review: A helpful robot cleaner

From the Pioneers

Judging from the number of vendors offering robotic vacuum cleaners at the local PC fairs, along with rather healthy discussions in our forums (such as here, here and here) , it is safe to say that robotic vacuum cleaners are one of the hottest selling home appliances right now. And it is no wonder, especially when you consider our hectic lifestyles. In fact, according to statistics from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, Singaporeans work an average of 2287 hours in 2011, significantly higher than countries such as Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, where the norm is only around 1700 hours.

Not long ago, we reviewed LG’s new Hom-Bot Square and we were impressed with its features and its pathfinding logic. With its array of ultrasonic sensors, cameras and optical sensors, it is one of the most cutting-edge robotic vacuum cleaners available today and is certainly a competent home cleaner.

However, LG, despite its considerable financial clout and size, is actually a relative newcomer to robotic vacuum cleaners. One of the pioneers of this type of devices is actually a company based in Massachusetts, USA, called iRobot. In fact, the company’s first robotic vacuum cleaner was launched over a decade ago around 2002. The first Roombas were rather primitive devices that moved about haphazardly with seemingly little logic in its movements. However, the Roombas of today are markedly different devices, especially the new Roomba 880, which has many new features that aim to help it become a more useful and fuss-free robotic vacuum cleaner. Let’s find out if it works. 

Design & Features

While brands like LG and Neato have incorporated squared corners into the designs of their robotic vacuum cleaners to help clean corners better, iRobot has instead stuck to the tried-and-tested round design for its latest Roomba 880.

The Roomba 880 is decked entirely in black and has a grey border around its circumference. It measures around 35cm in diameter and weighs around 3.8kg. It is also around 9.1 cm in height, so it should be able to find its way under most sofas and beds. In terms of size and dimensions for robotic vacuum cleaners, the Roomba 880 is actually pretty standard and is neither exceptionally large or small. And like most other robotic vacuum cleaners, there is a display and control panel on the top lid that allows users to quickly see the status of the device as well as control the device.

So far, the Roomba 880 sounds pretty normal, but that is because most of its improvements are under the proverbial hood. Flipping the unit over, we can immediately see what Roomba calls its new Aeroforce Performance Cleaning System, which it claims can help remove up to 50% more dust, dirt and hair than previous systems. Key to this are the new Aeroforce Extractors, which are made out of specially sculpted rubber that is designed to be a) tangle-resistant and b) concentrate and direct air flow for stronger suction performance. This differs from iRobot’s competitors, since they mostly rely on typical bristle and brush extractors to pick up dirt, dust and hair, which are prone to getting tangled, especially with hair and pet fur.

Also interesting is that unlike other robotic vacuum cleaners, which typically have two front-facing sweeping brushes to help 'feed' the extractors, the Roomba 880 has only one. Presumably, this is to reduce the chances of the Roomba 880 getting tangled with objects like wires and soft carpets. And on top of this, the sweeping brush is clever enough to spin in the opposite direction if it detects that it is getting tangled.

As for navigation, the Roomba 880 uses traditional infrared sensors coupled with its own iAdapt Responsive Navigation Technology, which monitors feedback from its sensors up to 60 times a second to decide on its next course of action. One quirk of the Roomba 880 is that unlike some other robotic vacuum cleaners, it does not strictly avoid obstructions, and instead bumps into them lightly to see if they can be passed through. This allows the Roomba 880 to navigate pass curtains and bed and sofa skirts. It also has acoustic sensors within its AeroForce Performance System to 'listen' out for the amount of dirt being picked up. If it senses that there is a lot of dirt, which indicates that the area is very dirty, it will focus cleaning on that particular area.

Sensors aside, the Roomba 880 also comes with two Virtual Wall Lighthouses. These are small battery-powered beacon-like devices that can be placed on the floor in your home to create a virtual barrier to block off the Roomba 880. This is especially useful if you to keep the Roomba 880 away from obstructions that might trap it or if you want to restrict it to cleaning a room. Additionally, these small devices can also work as a “Lighthouse”. iRobot recommends users to use the “Lighthouse” mode by placing it at the door of a room, this restricts the Roomba 880 to within the room. Only after the room is cleaned, will the Virtual Wall Lighthouse allow the Roomba 880 to pass and let it clean the area outside or the next room. And as it does so, the Virtual Wall Lighthouse reactivates and prevents the Roomba 880 from reentering the room that it has already cleaned.

The Roomba 880 also comes with a charging station, which is actually fairly small and compact. This is a good thing since this means that it does not take up much floor space. Like most robotic vacuum cleaners, the Roomba 880 will automatically go back to the charging station when it is low on power. iRobot claims that a full charge will enable the Roomba 880 to clean continuously for about two hours, which we find to be about right. Users can also manually send the Roomba 880 back to its charging station using the remote control.

Performance, Maintenance & Usage Experience

Compared to its rivals, as the LG Hom-Bot Square, the Roomba 880 is a little down on cleaning modes as it offers only "Clean" and "Spot" mode. As you might expect, "Spot" tells the Roomba 880 to focus on cleaning a single spot; whereas "Clean" works like an automatic mode and sets the Roomba 880 off on its own to clean the house as it sees fit using its sensors and iAdapt Responsive Navigation Technology. Users can also schedule the Roomba 880 to clean at certain times of the day or certain days of the week by using the control panel.

Generally speaking, we were very pleased with the cleaning performance of the Roomba 880 and much of it has to do with its strong suction performance and its logical pathfinding. Early iRobot Roomba devices were often criticized for its haphazard pathfinding, but in our experience, the Roomba 880 set about its business in a fairly logical way. We noticed that it will trace the edges of the wall and clean as close to it as possible, and that it employs a grid pattern movement when cleaning wider open spaces. It is also rather thorough as we noticed that it often makes multiple passes over the same area.

However, logical pathfinding is just one part of the equation, what made the Roomba 880 stand out in our testing was that it was least prone to getting stuck in places. Previously, in the review of the LG Hom-Bot Square, we mentioned that the Hom-Bot Square’s sweeping brushes and extractors were prone to getting tangled in wires and soft rugs. The Hom-Bot Square also encountered problems navigating around low-lying obstructions such as the legs of Ikea’s POÄNG armchair that run parallel to the floor. However, the Roomba 880 was able to overcome these obstacles thanks to its clever sweeping brushes that spin in the opposite direction when it detects that it is getting tangled, and also to its robust motor that was able to power the unit away from the low-lying legs of the arm char should it accidentally mount it. But this is not to say that it never got stuck, it did, however the number of times that it occurred was considerably lesser than other robotic vacuum cleaners that we have tested (refer to June issue of HWM for the full shootout).

That said, one thing to note about the Roomba 880 is that it does not actively avoid obstacles like some of its competitors do. Rather, it gently nudges them to determine if they are impassable barriers or soft barriers, such as curtains, bed and sofa skirts, that can be passed. We found this feature to be a double-edged sword for the Roomba 880. On one hand, it is great that the Roomba 880 is clever enough to go pass curtains and go under beds and clean the area behind or underneath them. However, there were instances that we found the Roomba 880 to be a little too enthusiastic in its nudging of barriers, which resulted in things such as small decorative memorabilia moved around and out of position.

Here's a little fun clip we put together as we let loose a number of robotic vacuum cleaners in a room to see how they managed themselves; you'll notice certain traits that we discussed about the Roomba 880 if you notice closely:-

Play

The best way to get the Roomba 880 to avoid bumping into things is to use the Virtual Wall Lighthouses to create an invisible barrier. We found that these devices worked well, especially if there is an area you want the Roomba 880 to avoid or if you simply want to restrict it to a room. In "Lighthouse" mode, we found that the device was indeed smart enough to only allow the Roomba 880 to pass after it has finished cleaning the room.

All things considered, the Roomba 880’s above average cleaning performance can be attributed mostly to the fact that it seldom got stuck in places. This made the Roomba 880 really easy and fuss-free to use.

 

Maintenance

In terms of maintenance, the Roomba 880 is equipped with a HEPA-filtered bin that is 60% larger than its predecessors. This means that the Roomba 880 can be used for longer periods before the bin needs to be emptied. Thankfuily, emptying the bin is a straightforward task, simply push a little button located on the top panel towards the rear of the device and the bin is released for emptying. However, as we removed the bin from the device, we noticed that some dirt did manage to fall out on to the ground. We would have preferred a system similar to the LG Hom-Bot Square’s where the bin is removed vertically as it is a much cleaner and elegant solution.

The new AeroForce Extractors proved to be quite tangle resistant as there was noticeably less hair and pet fur that remained tangled as compared to its rivals. Even so, it is not entirely maintenance free and depending on your usage they still need to be cleaned regularly, though not as often you would with regular brush and bristle extractors.

Convenience at a Price

If you are a loyal reader of HWM Singapore, you will probably notice that in our June issue, the Roomba 880 was crowned the winner of our robotic vacuum cleaner shootout. Indeed, all things considered, the Roomba 880 is quite easily the most accomplished robotic vacuum cleaner available right now.

For one, it was the one that consistently managed to navigate around the room with the least problems and issues. This is a huge plus in our books as it is pointless to have the strongest suction performance if the device is not capable of navigating itself and is always getting stuck. Kudos then to the Roomba’s 880 tangle-resistant AeroForce Extractors and the intelligent sweeping brush.

We also liked that it came with two Virtual Wall Lighthouse devices. This device is helpful not only in keeping the device away from potentially hazardous or troublesome areas; in Lighthouse mode, it also helps the Roomba 880 efficiently clean multiple rooms and areas.

Unfortunately, the convenience that the Roomba 880 offers comes at a high price, S$1298 to be exact, making it one of the costliest robotic vacuum cleaners in the market today. The question of whether it is worth shelling out so much for a robotic vacuum cleaner really depends on your lifestyle and individual needs. Personally, we feel that robotic vacuum cleaners today are still some ways from being a direct replacement for good old manual human labor, especially if you are meticulous about cleanliness. On the other hand, if you abhor doing chores or if you are lax about cleanliness around the home, you might be able to get by with just a robotic vacuum cleaner doing the work for you. If that is the case, it is worth investing in the Roomba 880 as it is the most capable model in the market today.

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