A sweeping robot is described. The sweeping robot includes a base plate and a contact-type detection electrode, the contact-type detection electrode is mounted at a front portion of the base plate. When the contact-type detection electrode makes contact with dirt that may be dispersed, the resistance, capacitance or impedance of the contact-type detection electrode changes.

An autonomous cleaning robot (e.g., an autonomous vacuum) may clean an environment using a cleaning head that is self-actuated. The cleaning head includes an actuator assembly comprising an actuator configured to control rotation and vertical movement of a cleaning roller, a controller, and a cleaning roller having an elongated cylindrical length connected to the actuator assembly. The cleaning head also includes a computer processor connected to the actuator assembly and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that causes the computer processor to map the environment based on sensor data captured by the autonomous vacuum. The computer processor may determine an optimal height for the cleaning head based on the map and instruct the actuator assembly to adjust the height of the cleaning head.

A method is disclosed that includes continuously obtaining air purity and floor particle data from one or more sensors and/or one or more cameras of a robotic device among a fleet of robotic devices; determining whether air impurities around the robotic device exceed an air purity threshold based on air purity feedback from the one or more sensors of the robotic device; based on the determination whether air impurities around the robotic device exceed the air purity threshold, modifying an air purification mode of the robotic device; determining whether floor particles around the robotic device exceed a floor particle threshold based on floor particle feedback from the one or more sensors of the robotic device; and based on the determination whether floor particles around the robotic device exceed the floor particle threshold, modifying a floor cleaning mode of the robotic device.

A vacuum cleaner including a suction inlet, a conduit in fluid communication with the suction inlet, a filter having a valve releasably connected to a filter inlet, the filter configured to collect debris drawn through the suction inlet. The vacuum cleaner further comprising a release mechanism moveable from a first position to a second position. In the first position, the filter is in fluid communication with the conduit to collect debris with the valve being open, and in the second position, the filter is disconnected from the conduit with the valve being closed. Movement of the release mechanism between the first and second positions closes the valve.

A method and system automatically determine cleaning, maintenance and/or repair information for a motor-driven treatment tool, wherein the treatment tool comprises a residue, able to be detected externally optically, caused during the operation of the treatment tool. The method involves the steps of: optically detecting the residue; classing the detected residue in accordance with a type of the residue; determining the cleaning, maintenance and/or repair information based on the classing; and outputting the determined cleaning, maintenance and/or repair information.

A suction material collecting station for regenerating a filter chamber of a suction cleaner has an interface for connecting to the suction cleaner, a suction material collection container, a fan for generating a negative pressure in the suction material collection container, and an electric motor for driving the fan so that suction material contained in the filter chamber may be conveyed into the suction material collection container. The suction material collecting station has a control and evaluation unit that calculates a surroundings disturbance parameter and controls the operation of the electric motor automatically, depending on the surroundings disturbance parameter and a device parameter of the suction cleaner. The suction material collecting station has a detection device for detecting a presence parameter in the surroundings of the suction material collecting station and/or a device parameter, and/or a communication device for receiving information about the presence parameter and/or device parameter.

An autonomous coverage robot includes a chassis, a drive system configured to maneuver the robot, and a cleaning assembly. The cleaning assembly includes a cleaning assembly housing and at least one driven sweeper brush. The robot includes a controller and a removable sweeper bin configured to receive debris agitated by the driven sweeper brush. The sweeper bin includes an emitter disposed on an interior surface of the bin and a receiver disposed remotely from the emitter on the interior surface of the bin and configured to receive an emitter signal. The emitter and the receiver are disposed such that a threshold level of accumulation of debris in the sweeper bin blocks the receiver from receiving emitter emissions. The robot includes a bin controller disposed in the sweeper bin and monitoring a detector signal and initiating a bin full routine upon determining a bin debris accumulation level requiring service.

An autonomous cleaner includes: a main body including a housing, a drive wheel (wheel) attached to the housing, and a drive unit that drives the drive wheel; a map storage unit that stores map information for the main body to travel; a determination unit that determines a harmful concentrated region that is likely to generate a harmful substance including at least one of a virus and a bacterium; and a map information corrector that reflects and corrects, in the map information stored in the map storage unit, the harmful concentrated region determined by the determination unit.

Visualizing a contaminant is provided. A contaminant of a plurality of different contaminants included in a contaminant knowledgebase is identified based on analysis of contaminant-relevant data received from one or more sensors of a plurality of different sensor arrays regarding an enclosed physical space. A concentration and a type of the contaminant is identified based on the contaminant-relevant data and information included in the contaminant knowledgebase. A location of the contaminant is identified within the enclosed physical space based on location of the one or more sensors that obtained the contaminant-relevant data and a digital twin of the enclosed physical space. A visualization of the contaminant is projected at an area proximate to the location of the contaminant using a holographic image indicating the concentration and the type of the contaminant within the enclosed physical space.

A robotic cleaning appliance includes a housing, surface treatment item, surface type detection sensor, and processor. The sensor emits sonic signals toward a surface being traversed and receives corresponding returned signals from the surface. The returned signals are used for surface type detection and include directly reflected primary returned signals and multi-path reflected secondary returned signals which return at a later time than the primary returned signals. The processor selects a window of time after transmission of a sonic signal such that the returned signals in the window comprise at least a portion of the secondary returned signals, wherein the window is related to round trip time-of-flight of the returned signals; processes the returned signals falling in the window to achieve a reflectivity metric; compares the reflectivity metric to a stored value; and based on the comparison, determines which surface type of a plurality of surface types has been detected.