Using navigation systems, these little cleaners collect the debris and sediments from any swimming pool without human intervention.
A filter system, detecting objects and navigation technologies, vacuum pump, wheels, electrical motors, and battery or an extension cord is working together for the most efficient cleaning system under water. These vacuum cleaners are designed for small to large pools, depending on the requirements.
In this article, I have the mission to split a robotic pool cleaner in three parts: how it works to collect the dirt, inside technologies for navigation and detection, and how this robot can be controlled.
How it works
A cleaner is designed to cover the entire surface of the pool and collect the debris and dirt.
The electricity set in motion all robotic systems, but this is not enough to clean the pool. Depending on the manufacturer and price, a cleaner uses a long extension cord or batteries for power supply.
The wheels are designed to move the robot around the pool, but these cannot keep the robot at the bottom of the pool. A pressure pump is used to move the cleaners in the pool and to collect the debris and dirt like algae or even bacteria. Two electrical motors are used separately, one motor is used to generate pressure, and a separate motor puts the wheels in motion.
Inside, the main tool of a swimming pool robot is a filter system with a built-in filter to collect the debris and dirt.
Technology
A lot of sensors and many programming lines that run in powerful microprocessor guide the robot in the pool. Technologies used for navigation and detection are different from robot to robot. Some manufacturers chosen standard technologies while others design new advanced technologies for navigation and the senses.
A wide range of robotic pool cleaners works systematic to cover the entire surface of the pool. This is the standard system for navigation with good results in practice, but far away from a perfect cleaning system.
An advanced technology called ActivMotion Sensor was designed and integrated in Zodiac robotic pool cleaner. This technology sense automatically the position of the robot and adapt the cleaning path in order to have the best and accurate coverage for the entire pool. This navigation system allows the robot to capture more debris compared with other robots and is much faster.
Inside, ActivMotion system uses an accelerometer sensor that senses the position of the cleaner. This sensor is common in smart devices like smartphones or tablets and measure in three dimensions the position of the robot including here the deep, shallow, and vertical or horizontal position.
Other robotic cleaner like Wave 300 XL uses multiple scanning systems to optimize the coverage of the pool. The 300 XL uses an advanced navigation system with gyro and compass sensors that help the robot to handle irregular shapes with obstacles.
If almost all sensors included into a robotic cleaner are for navigation, DuraMAX robot has included an air detection sensor to detect the zero-depth water level in order to avoid any unwanted movement of the robot out of water.
Control
There are two main types of control – using an interface or using a remote control. The interface is in general simple and uses indicators and buttons to setup the operational mode. Operational mode includes cyclic cleaning mode as well as automatic operation. The remote control is used for manual maneuvering.