Smart Vacuums Can’t Do It All
So you've invested a few hundred dollars on a smart vacuum so you could hit a button and go about your day while it sweeps your house, right? But then you notice it avoids the patterned rug in the living room and won’t even enter your dark-carpeted bedroom.
Well, guess what? Now you've got two rooms to vacuum manually which probably defeats the purpose of getting a robot vacuum in the first place. What a waste of money! Don't worry, we're here to help.
Here’s How Smart Vacuums Work
To make a long technical explanation, short — smart vacuums rely on sensors to navigate your house. These sensors allow the vacuum to chart its course, work around furniture, and get close to the walls without smashing into them.
Generally speaking, the more you spent on your vacuum, the higher-quality the sensors. Unfortunately, they all have a frustrating flaw...
What They Don’t Tell You Before You Buy
Smart vacuums are afraid of dark carpets, are confused by patterned rugs, and the manufacturers know it, too! But are they going to tell you that? Heck no!
That’s what you have us for. We’re here for you and we've come up with a solution.
When Keeping it Safe Goes Wrong
The issue is that smart vacuums are programmed with what are known as “cliff sensors", that, you guessed it, sense when a cliff (or staircase) is near so they don’t fall off. This is a good thing!
The problem is these sensors think your dark carpet is equally dangerous, so the vacuum will adjust its course to avoid “falling” by turning around. Take a look at what we’re talking about in the video below.
Why my Vacuum is Scared of the Dark
The infrared sensors that line the underside of a smart vacuum sense when it's nearing an edge and either shuts down or changes its course to prevent a fall. Unfortunately, the vacuum doesn’t know the difference between a drop in the floor and those dark stripes on your rug. Because it is unable to distinguish between the two, it will turn around in both scenarios.
But I Thought Smart Vacuums Map Out the Rooms They Clean?
Well, not exactly. Instead, smart vacuums are programmed to perform a set of “behaviors” that tell the vacuum what to do. For instance, if the vacuum is nearing a wall, the sensors tell it to turn around rather than continually crashing into it.
The vacuum follows behaviors like these and is eventually able to sweep the whole room. Which is why they don’t need to know the dimensions of a room before cleaning it.
How do IR Sensors Work, Anyway?
These sensors bounce infrared (IR) light between the vacuum and the floor. When the surface is lightly colored, the light bounces back and the vacuum goes on its merry vacuuming way, but when the surface is dark, the light is absorbed instead, causing the vacuum to cry out in fear and initiate its flight response.
IR Sensor Shields
Luckily, we've got a solution! Simply apply Vac Hack's adhesive reflectors to the bottom of your smart vacuum. By masking the infrared sensors, your vacuum will clean any room unimpeded by darkness. It’s that easy!
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Happy Customers
Just look at these folks who are finally getting the most out of their smart vacuums thanks to Vac Hack's IR Sensor Shields.
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