Roomba i7 – Smart Mapping for Multi-Room Cleaning
I’ve posted the Roomba i7 review to present the in-depth description of a Wi-Fi capable robotic vacuum with 3 cleaning stages. Its suction power of 1,800 Pa and 60 minutes of battery life provide just regular cleaning of a small apartment. Nevertheless, it has impressive smart features.
Dimensions
The device has 13.3 inches across and an average height of 3.6 inches. Of course, 0.5L of the dustbin capacity is too small for a house to get the entire cleaning session on a single charge. However, it’s enough for a small or medium-sized room. The unit weighs 7.4 pounds, making it no problem to carry the Roomba i7 around. The clean base is compact, being 19 inches high and 1 foot wide.
Features
The unit has a mapping feature. It means that the robot learns the room’s layout, creates a map, and borders between cleaning zones. Besides, it’s possible to set the restricted areas to prevent the robot from entering them. Although the overall control is achieved through the dedicated mobile app for Android and iOS devices, the dual-mode virtual wall in the package is another way to keep the vacuum away from a particular zone. It also has a Halo mode, being capable of creating circular barriers nearly 22 inches across.
It’s possible to give the robot voice commands through Alexa or Google assistant. The user can schedule cleaning and set the robot to clean different rooms on different days.
The unit’s dustbin can be integrated into the Roomba i7 clean base (it is sold separately) with the enclosed bags to automatically remove the collected dirt from the bin and the canister lid at the top to change the bags.
The device removes any type of dirt, including pet hair, also capturing mold and allergens. The vacuum fits both hard surfaces and low-pile carpets, making easy transitions between, for example, a laminate floor to a rug. Still, it leaves some dirt in the corners.
The Roomba i7 gets stuck and loses power, running into such objects as clothes, cords, or bathroom scales on the floor. Besides, it produces much noise that is even louder when the robot starts removing the dust from its bin to a clean base’s bag. At the same time, I’d like to notice that this vacuum has no issues with returning to the base and lining up with it correctly thanks to the robot’s built-in Aero Window.
Design
The robot is a round-shaped device with a glossy and matte black finish. It has 3 touch-buttons on top to go to the base, start cleaning, and activate the Spot cleaning mode. The Clean button glows white while the unit is charging. It glows blue to indicate that it’s coming back to the dock station, and the red color means the low battery. The camera in the middle helps the iRobot Roomba i7 navigate the space. A light touch sensor towards the front of the unit detects physical objects.
This clean base has a LED indicator that lights red when the bag is full or has been removed from the base. It starts blinking red if there is a clog. The light pulses white while the unit is charging.
Conclusion
The iRobot Roomba i7 Wi-Fi connected robot vacuum matches those who look for an almost automated cleaning experience and such smart features as mapping and voice control. The vacuum’s capabilities allow using it as the main cleaning device but consider using it when nobody is sleeping or working in the house.
