The object of our next review was the Panda i5 robot vacuum cleaner. This is a new 2017 model that stands out from its competitors for its striking design, the absence of a turbo brush and the presence of non-specific functions for a vacuum cleaner. All this will delight lovers of high-tech novelties and people who wish to purchase a universal thing for cleaning and monitoring the house.
Equipment
The Panda i5 robot vacuum cleaner comes with:
- Robot vacuum cleaner;
- charging base from a 220V network;
- network adapter;
- two spare side brushes;
- remote control;
- batteries for the remote control;
- 8 Gb Kingston memory card;
- washing panel with a water tank;
- two microfiber cloths;
- spare HEPA filter;
- simple and intuitive instruction in Russian;
- a coupon with a manufacturer's warranty (2 years).
Specifications
The Panda i5 has a number of distinctive technical features that set it apart from the competition.
| CHARACTERISTIC | Panda i5 | iClebo Omega | iRobot Roomba 980 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 85-125 Watt | 45 watts | 40 watts |
| Cleaning area | Up to 240 m² | Up to 120 m² | Up to 100 m² |
| Dust box volume (ml) | 500 | 650 | 500 |
| Noise level (dB) | < 46 | 68 | 60 |
| Battery | Li-Pol 7000 mAh | Li-Ion 4400 mAh | Li-Ion 2200 mAh |
| Thickness | 6 cm | 8.7 cm | 9.2 cm |
| Cleaning / charging time | 140/180 minutes | 80/180 minutes | 120/180 minutes |
| WiFi connection, App | there is | No | there is |
| Side turbo brush | Two | Two | One |
| Camcorder | There is. Active | there is | there is |
| HEPA filter | There is. Triple filtration | there is | there is |
| Wet cleaning | There is. Complete with water tank | There is. Floor polisher | No |
| Possibility of programming | there is | there is | there is |
| Anti-entanglement system | there is | there is | No |
| Cartography and navigation system | there is | there is | there is |
| Smartphone control | there is | No | there is |
| Automatic return to station | there is | there is | there is |
| Touchpad | there is | there is | there is |
| Warranty | 2 years | 1 year | 1 year |
We have dedicated the comparative advantages of Panda i5 separate article.
Appearance
The case design is the first thing that catches the eye when choosing any device. The Panda Clever i5 robot vacuum wins you over with its bright red color and glossy surface. Girls will definitely appreciate his appearance. The build quality and durable plastic will be appreciated by the stronger sex. And everyone will appreciate the presence of a touch panel on the body of the robot vacuum cleaner, with which you can launch this assistant.
The thickness of the case is only 5.9 cm, which is good news, because now the dust under the furniture will have no chance. This wonderful assistant is able to get into even the most remote corners of your home and save you from the hated dust and dirt.
Functionality, cleaning modes
Now cleaning your home will become fun, not a duty. Thanks to its wide range of functions, the Panda Clever i5 robot vacuum cleaner can cope with various types of cleaning, whether it is a complete cleaning of a room or washing floors.
For cleaning the premises, the robot vacuum cleaner has 4 types of programs:
- Auto mode: the robot moves along the constructed route.
- Delayed start cleaning mode: the robot vacuum cleaner starts cleaning at a specific time and days of the week that you program.
- Spot cleaning: The robot vacuum cleaner cleans a specific area of the surface in a spiral, increasing the suction power to completely absorb the smallest particles of dust and dirt. The minimum power is 1000 Pascals, the maximum is 1200 Pascals.
- Cleaning along walls and furniture outlines: allows for a little cleaning, usually used by pet owners to collect scraps of six.
The dust container for these programs is 500 ml and has a filling sensor. This is quite enough for daily cleaning of the apartment.
In addition to the usual functions of a vacuum cleaner, a robot vacuum cleaner has another very useful one - cleaning floors. Now you can entrust this laborious cleaning element to him and be sure that he will cope with it 100%.
To do this, the i5 has a 280 ml water tank and a special 28 cm microfiber cloth. All this allows it to wash any coating without leaving streaks, thanks to the "remove excess liquid" function. Parquet owners will appreciate this functionality.
For connoisseurs of cleanliness not only of surfaces, but also of air, the Panda i5 has a HEPA filter for air purification from allergens and bacteria, a carbon filter and a fine filter. Together, they make the air in the house much cleaner, and the floors sparkling.
It is worth noting the powerful battery of the robot - the latest generation lithium polymer battery, has a capacity of 7000 milliampere-hours. The Panda i5 can operate continuously for up to 240 minutes on a single charge. The charging time is about the same 240 minutes.
The unique shape of the side brushes will avoid such problems as winding wires or hair on them, which are constantly faced by owners of robotic vacuum cleaners, and the presence of 6 cleaning elements at once on the brushes ensures perfect cleaning quality.
The Panda i5 robot vacuum automatically adjusts its power depending on the type of flooring and how dirty it is, so cleaning will always be perfect.
Regarding the safety of the robot vacuum cleaner from falls from a height, it can be noted that it has 4 groups of sensors that allow timely detection of a change in the height of the working surface and the need to immediately stop or change the trajectory of movement.
The navigation system of this model is an echolocation system for collision avoidance, which minimizes the risk of colliding with anything (or someone) while cleaning. Most models of robotic vacuum cleaners move erratically, bump into obstacles and illogically try to go around them. The same model of a robot vacuum cleaner builds a map of the room and performs cleaning taking into account all its features.
Upon completion of cleaning or in the event of a discharge of the battery, the vacuum cleaner goes to the base station, and finds it accurately.
The charging station is miniature, it can be installed along the walls or in the corner of the room. There is double-sided tape on the back wall, for those who are ready to fix the charge seriously and for a long time.
But for some reason the manufacturer made the power supply cable white, probably black would be preferable in most interiors.
Unique features
As for the newfangled things, there are a lot of them:
- Widescreen HD camcorder, which allows you to observe what is happening in the house, being anywhere in the world.
- Dedicated smartphone app, the installation instructions for which you will find in the documentation for the vacuum cleaner.
- Remote control... Through the application, you can see everything that happens in the house in real time, control the route of the robot and even make a video call home.
- Video recording... The data captured by the camera will be stored on a standard 8 GB flash card and can always be accessed from a mobile phone.If the camera is not needed, it can be turned off via the smartphone application or its lens can be closed manually with a special shutter.
- Night vision system, allowing you to create a picture of objects invisible in the dark. The camera works even when the vacuum cleaner is completely discharged.
- Guard mode... Also, thanks to the presence of a camera in the Panda i5, you can activate the security mode - by setting the time for monitoring the house. In case of any movement in the apartment or house, you will receive a corresponding notification in the application on your smartphone.
- Availability of Wi-Fi, thanks to which you can control the robot - vacuum cleaner remotely. You just need to connect to the vacuum cleaner using your home router, select the appropriate cleaning mode and watch on your smartphone screen how cleverly and quickly the Panda i5 cleans up.
Smartphone app
The smartphone app turned out to be a nice addition to the above features.
The application allows you to turn on the cleaning mode from any corner of the planet. On the screen you see all the possible commands for your assistant - auto cleaning, cleaning along the walls, in a circle, increasing power, moving forward, backward, left, right. Also the command "find a base" in order to get up for charging, and a delay in cleaning for 24 hours.
It seemed to me quite convenient, because now it is not necessary to look for a remote control from the robot to start it up, or to set the start time for cleaning. Now it can be done from anywhere in the world.
And you also don’t need to go to the rescue of the robot if it is stuck somewhere - through the application you can help it to get out using the buttons "forward", "back", "left", "right".
You can also connect to a camera to monitor the situation in the room and use it to record a video or take a photo. You can listen to what is happening in the room or give instructions to those present in it. With the latter, I advise you to be careful, tk. you can greatly scare a person. Today, few people are ready for the fact that a vacuum cleaner will talk to him :). But sometimes you can play a prank and take a photo or video of his surprised and frightened face!
These videos and photos will be stored in the application's memory and can be downloaded to your phone or computer if necessary.
A link to the application and detailed instructions can be found in the documentation set for the robot vacuum cleaner. She describes step by step what and in what sequence needs to be done in order to gain full access to all functions. The main thing is not to forget to turn on Wi-Fi on the robot itself. The app is already available in the App Store and will soon appear on Google Play.
Own impression of work
The design of the Panda i5 robot vacuum cleaner impressed with its brightness and glossy shine. Its touchpad seemed to be a very functional solution.
Upon closer examination, I was surprised by the lack of a turbo brush. Another robot vacuum cleaner with a similar brush is a salvation, because we have a cat whose fur gets stuck in the pile of carpets.
The manufacturer of the robot vacuum cleaner explained the absence of a turbo brush by the fact that many owners of robotic vacuum cleaners who have pets faced a serious problem: scraps of wool wrapped around the brush reduced the quality of cleaning or even spoiled the robots.
The vacuum hole, which is designed instead of a brush, allows dirt to be sucked directly into the dust collector without being blocked by stuck hair or wires. On my own I will add that this is true, but only if you do not have carpets with a pile of more than 1 cm and this is an ideal solution for rooms with parquet, laminate, tiles or linoleum.
The mopping function is really useful. I'm not a fan of crawling with a rag under furniture, but because of allergies I had to do this several times a week. Now my Japanese assistant does this every day. You just need to pour water into the tank and start the program, and after cleaning, rinse and dry the microfiber.
The presence of three filters for air purification, a nice addition from the manufacturer Panda i5.Again, as an allergy sufferer, I highly appreciated this concern for the health of the consumer.
The video communication and video surveillance functions surprised me. This is a nice addition to the necessary functions for which these vacuum cleaners are purchased. You can keep track of what your pets are doing while you are away and if they are playing pranks, you can scold them through the microphone located in the robot vacuum cleaner. This is a useful thing for people who often travel on business trips and are worried about the safety of their home, because if movement is noticed in the room, the robot vacuum cleaner will send you a notification to your smartphone via the application.
Side brushes can be attributed to both the plus and the minus. The plus is that dust and debris have no chance, but you will often have to help the vacuum cleaner, because of the slow rotation, it constantly tries to climb under the carpets and get stuck there.
disadvantages
The disadvantages include the following aspects:
Swiftness - he is very, very nimble, this negatively affects the quality of carpet cleaning, he passes the route too quickly. At the expense of the noise level - it seemed to me quite noisy. Sleeping during his work will be difficult not only for a child, but also for an adult.
In the first week of use, the main drawback of the model was its "talent" to crash into everything and everyone. He very persistently tried to climb into various places, no matter what. It was a mystery to me why the declared echolocation did not cope with the task - he managed to crash not only into the legs of chairs and tables, but also into people. He moved pots of flowers, not very heavy furnishings and made all collisions with a fairly decent effort and speed. The problem was solved by contacting the manufacturer on the hotline - they quickly and competently responded to the appeal, prompted what exactly needs to be done to make the problem disappear - to restart the robot by simply turning it off and on after 10 seconds. And lo and behold, he stopped taking down everything and everyone. Now you can start the robot and not worry about interior items. I was very pleased that the problem was resolved so quickly and so “painlessly”.
Although, one small caveat still remains: it does not always recognize dark objects and thin legs of tables and chairs, especially if they fall between the location sensors. In this regard, he does not always give up immediately, but continues to push the obstacle for 2-3 seconds. This does not create much inconvenience.
The cost of the robot can also be attributed to a disadvantage, because it is quite high for a vacuum cleaner and is approximately 38,000 rubles. (the stock could be purchased for 29,990 rubles). However, if we consider all its additional functions, then the price balances on the brink of justice. In this context, the promotional price is perhaps quite justified. Yes, it has a lot of functions and features, it combines several devices - a vacuum cleaner, a floor polisher, video surveillance, video communication - but still the cost of 38,000 for all this, in my opinion, is high.
Video in progress
Conclusion
Who can we recommend this model to?
- For people who do not have carpets in their home, all furnishings are solid and well fixed.
- Allergy sufferers, because this helper will save you from dust and allergens, making your home safer.
- Young parents who already have enough worries and want to devote all their free time to taking care of children, and not cleaning.
- Elderly people, because with age it becomes difficult to keep the house clean, and the Panda i5 robot vacuum cleaner will do it with ease.
- Workaholics who spend a lot of time at work or on the road. You will be assured of cleanliness in the house, because you can select the required operating mode and start it, even when you are far from home.
A robot vacuum cleaner is a necessary, useful and practical thing that allows you to keep your home clean, freeing up time for pleasant things. And which model and with which functions to choose is a purely personal matter.
In the comparative table, the data for the Roomba 980 is absolutely incorrect (the characteristics are frankly understated):
* cleaning area - over 120m (there is a function of automatic recharge and continuation of cleaning);
* battery capacity 3300;
* below there are two extractor rollers,
* Dust container capacity - 1.1L.
The presence of a lower chamber is not mentioned.