Look out iRobot, Neato, Evolution, and Samsung. A company from the world's fastest rising economy has just tossed its own robotic vacuum cleaner into the fray.
[link=http://www.davismicro.com]Davismicro[/link] , one of China's largest consumer electronics wholesaler, is now offering its own robotic vacuum cleaner - the G182.
The G182 is a robovac with a WiFi-enabled webcam attached to its flat top. That means, if you've got a wireless router connected to the Internet, you can control the G182 from practically anywhere in the world.
Aside from allowing you to check on your pets, kids, or wife while you're out of town, this feature can be useful if you want to make sure the G182 is performing its task smoothly or immobilized for whatever reason. That way, you can contact somebody at home to free the poor robot.
The G182 also comes with a mic, but I don't think it has any practical use as vacuum cleaners are usually left lying on the floor.
Actually, the G182 comes with infrared-emitting virtual walls that you can set up to prevent the robot from entering places it's not supposed to venture into. The infrared emitters can reach up to approximately 7 meters. That's sure to cover any doorway or hallway.
Since the webcam's detachable, you can remove it when you're at home. That should enable the robovac to clean underneath furniture with low clearance. Without the webcam, the Davismicro's G182 looks just like the iRobot's and Samsung's robovacs, i.e., circular.
Like all robotic vacuum cleaners, the G182 can navigate on its own. It can even dock to recharge when it runs out of energy. When fully charged, this robovac can operate for 70 minutes. A fully drained G182 would need about 3.5 hours to fully replenish its depleted energy.
Davismicro is one of China's first wholesale companies that invested in e-commerce, selling its wares to international buyers through its website. Most of its products, which include cell phones, MP3 playsers, GPS devices, cameras, camcorders, projectors, HDD players, digital TV receivers, WiFi devices, car DVD players, security equipment, jammers, and spy cameras, are unbranded.
While Davismicro is registered in Hong Kong, it operates its warehouse in Shenzen, China. The company has another robovac in its product line. Watch out for the Chinese robovac with whiskers on our next post.