A method for operating a cleaning system that comprises at least one self-traveling cleaning device that travels in an environment based on an environment map and carries out cleaning activities. The cleaning device accesses a database, in which multiple cleaning activities are stored. A user accesses the database and defines in advance at least one randomly occurring event, depending on the occurrence of which at least one certain cleaning activity is carried out. The user defines an event-dependent activity scenario and the activity scenario is carried out upon the subsequent occurrence of the defined event. At least one cleaning activity is also scheduled time-dependently, and predefined rules determine whether only the event-dependent activity scenario or only the time-dependently scheduled cleaning activity is carried out if the time of an occurrence of a defined event falls short of a predefined minimum time interval.

An autonomous cleaning robot (e.g., an autonomous vacuum) may employ a cleaning head for cleaning messes in an environment. The cleaning head may comprise an enclosure with a brush opening at a first side, a mop opening at a second side, and an outlet connected to a vacuum pump. The outlet may open to a cavity within the enclosure. The cleaning head may further comprise a brush roller configured at a front of the enclosure, a mop roller configured behind the brush roller in the enclosure, an actuator connecting the mop roller and brush roller to the enclosure, and a selection flap hinged at a top portion of the cavity. Each of the brush roller and mop roller may be externally exposed at the brush opening and mop opening, respectively, and the actuator may be configured to move the enclosure vertically.

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.

An autonomous cleaning robot (e.g., an autonomous vacuum) may use a sensor system to map an environment that may be used to determine where to clean. The autonomous vacuum receives visual data about the environment and determines a ground plane of the environment based on the visual data. The autonomous vacuum detects objects within the environment based on the ground plane. For each object, the autonomous vacuum segments a three-dimensional (3D) representation of the object out of the visual data and determines whether the object is static or dynamic. The autonomous vacuum adds static objects to a long-term level of a map of the environment and dynamic objects to an intermediate level of the map. The autonomous vacuum may further add virtual borders, flags, walls, and messes to the map.

A waste collection bag may be used by an autonomous cleaning robot (e.g., an autonomous vacuum) to store waste during a plurality of cleaning processes. The waste bag comprises a waste bag, a waste collection sachet, and an absorbent. The waste bag has a first side and a second side, where the first side has an opening for waste to enter, and is composed of filtering material. The waste collection enclosed sachet has a first side and a second side that connect to form a cavity. The waste collection enclosed sachet is tethered to the second side of the waste bag and is composed of dissolvable paper. The absorbent may absorb liquid waste and is located inside the cavity of the waste collection enclosed sachet.

Described herein are sensor assembly cleaning systems and apparatuses that are adapted to rotate a transparent surface of a sensor assembly independently of a housing of the sensor assembly in order to disperse water, moisture, debris, or the like from the surface. The transparent surface may be a glass window that provides a camera of the sensor assembly with a field-of-view of an external environment. Sensor data captured from various on-board vehicle sensors such as moisture data, image data, vehicle velocity data, or the like can be evaluated against various criteria to determine when and for how long to rotate the transparent surface. Sensor data can be evaluated over a period of time to identify patterns or trends relating to one or more vehicle parameters. An activation schedule for initiating and ceasing rotation of the transparent surface can be determined based on such patterns/trends.

A cleaner includes a cleaner main body including a suction motor and a handle, and a suction nozzle that is connected to the cleaner main body and includes a housing that defines an open portion at a lower portion, a rotary cleaning unit disposed inside the housing and exposed through the open portion of the housing, and a support member that is located below the housing and supports the housing and has an open interior and at least one sub-inlet that is defined at a front surface of the support member and configured to receive foreign substances. The cleaner includes a controller disposed at the cleaner main body and configured to determine a condition of the surface by driving an artificial intelligence engine, and open and close the at least one sub-inlet based on the condition of the surface to thereby adjust a suction force of the cleaner.

A method of operating an autonomous cleaning robot is provided. The method includes receiving, at a handheld computing device, data representing a status of a debris collection bin of the autonomous cleaning robot, the status of the bin including a bin fullness reading. The method also includes receiving, at the handheld computing device, data representing a status of a filter bag of an evacuation station, the status of the filter bag including a bag fullness reading. The method also includes presenting, on a display of the handheld computing device, a first status indicator representing the bin fullness reading, and presenting, on the display of the handheld computing device, a second status indicator representing the bag fullness reading.

A cleaning route determination apparatus includes a calculation condition inputter that receives a calculation condition including information regarding an inside of a facility, an analyzer that analyzes, on a basis of the calculation condition, behavior of airflow and particles inside the facility, a map generator that generates, on a basis of a result of the analysis, a dust accumulation map indicating dust accumulation areas inside the facility and one or more dust amounts corresponding to the dust accumulation areas, a classifier that selects, on the basis of a certain condition, clusters from among clusters inside the facility, and a route calculator that determines a first route from second routes. Each of the second routes is a route for a cleaner to pass through, within a certain period of time, at least one dust accumulation area included in the clusters selected from among the clusters.

A surface cleaning apparatus includes a controller coupled to a sensor or a set of sensors that collects and transmits data to a remote computing device. The surface cleaning apparatus can use wireless or networking technology with a protocol for wireless communication with the remote computing device. The remote computing device is configured to identify an event at the surface cleaning apparatus and/or a change in the cycle of operation of the surface cleaning apparatus based on the transmitted data. Sensor data can be transmitted from the remote computing device to a different surface cleaning apparatus.