Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Review There’s no doubt about it - cleaning is a chore, for some much more than others. I tend to the view that vacuuming isn’t fun unless it makes the carpet change colour. Add a moulting cat, and a lot of clutter, and you can understand why people suggest I get a cleaner.

Samsung's Navibot: taking the metal mickey?

Enter Samsung’s NaviBot, a robot that can wander round the flat, picking up the muck, before returning to its charging station. I tested the top-end model, which has touch-sensitive controls rather than buttons, and comes with two "virtual fences" rather than one.

These can be used to create either a fixed barrier, to stop the NaviBot going past it, or a ‘gate’ which forces it to finish one room before going on to the next. The cheaper SR8455 - stick an 'N' in there, and you’d have a hovercraft - comes with just one, and lacks the ability to schedule a day of the week to clean automatically.

A camera on the top helps the droid build up a map of your home, while sensors on the bottom stop it falling down stairs. Some on the sides stop it when it reaches walls or objects. There are side brushes, too, that give it a beetle-like appearance as it’s cleaning, pushing dirt into the maw of the vacuum itself.

Grime and punishment

The dust container has a HEPA filter, and a quick-access flap that lets you suck the dirt out into a full size cleaner.

Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything