Robot Vacuum Cleaner Abir X8: Full Review of the most technologically advanced model of the company 2022.
Today I will tell you about the most advanced robot vacuum cleaner in the Abir line, the X8 model, which is equipped with a lidar (for laser navigation) and an auxiliary TOF sensor, which allows you to accurately draw a map of the room to clean and quickly track changes on it for the most efficient cleaning. The Abir X8 robot vacuum cleaner is equipped with a powerful and reliable Japanese motor, which provides good suction power and, accordingly, ensures the quality of cleaning. In addition, the robot is able to carry out wet cleaning with adjustable water flow intensity. X8 is a model with advanced artificial intelligence and a well-thought-out application, with which you can select or limit areas for cleaning, put up virtual walls, adjust the suction power and perform other actions. The robot also supports wireless update and speaks 7 languages, including in English. I have seen many different models of cleaning robots and I can confidently say that the Abir X8 is now # 1 in my personal ranking. He is in no way inferior to the people’s leader Roborock S6, and in some places even surpasses him! And at the same time it costs significantly less …
Functions and specifications
Navigation and artificial intelligence:
- Laser navigation system Lidar + SLAM navigation + TOF boundary sensors + mechanical sensors. Radar range from 5cm to 8m. Obstacle detection in real time, the robot scans and maps objects, updating the situation every 3–4 seconds.
- Height trap protection, wire winding protection, hair winding protection on brushes, fall protection
- Building maps and storing them in memory with subsequent updating when changes are made. It is possible to switch between different cards.
- Automatic return to base when the charge is low and cleaning resumes from the same place after 80% charge is reached.
Features :
- Japanese NIDEC brushless motor with maximum suction power up to 2500 Pa, high static pressure air duct, V-shaped main brush and variable speed side brushes.
- Large 600 ml trash can + 350 ml electric pump water tank.
- 3 modes of operation in cleaning mode: quiet, standard and powerful and 3 levels of water supply: weak, standard and strong.
- The 3200 mAh battery provides up to 2 hours of continuous cleaning or 120 square meters.
- Noise level 50–65 dB (depending on the cleaning mode)
The robot is delivered in a sturdy box, which is additionally protected by a “rough” thick cardboard packaging.
We open and see the instruction manual.
In addition to the instructions for the robot, there are small manuals for installing and cleaning the tanks, as well as instructions for installing and configuring the application.
Everything is securely packed and fixed, each accessory lies in its designated place and is sealed in a bag for complete safety.
Under the robot, I found such accessories and spare parts: a tank for dust and debris (the water tank is already installed in the robot), a “house” for recharging, a power supply, a remote control, a spare cloth (one more on the water tank), a spare HEPA filter (another one in the trash can), 2 sets of side brushes and a cleaning tool.
Let’s consider everything in detail. The water tank is blue and the trash tank is black, there are instructions in the pictures on the surface that show how to clean and how to install.
The floor washer has a water inlet, which is closed with a plug. Water does not flow out of the nozzle by gravity and you do not have to worry that if you do not remove the nozzle, then all the water will pour out overnight and flood the floor. Nevertheless, it is advisable to immediately remove the rag for washing and drying, because the moisture in the rag itself will not go anywhere and for parquet / laminate it is not very good.
The main cleaning nozzle has a lid, behind which is a HEPA filter for filtering small particles and a primary filter for filtering out dust.
Both attachments have a waste container. The main nozzle has a 600 ml waste bin. This is quite a lot and with daily cleaning allows you not to even look there for a week. But what’s more curious is that the wet cleaning nozzle also has a trash compartment! The fact is that while cleaning the floors, the robot continues to rotate the V-shaped and side brushes, collecting debris and hair mechanically. It turns out such an electric broom mode. Sweeps and immediately wipes the floors. Well, if before that you also vacuumed, then the floors will sparkle with cleanliness!
Microfiber cloth standard, fastened with Velcro. There is a spare one: while one was washed, use the second. Naturally, there is nothing in the main tank on the back side. It is impossible to wash the tanks with water, because a motor is located inside one (it can be seen through a semi-transparent case), and inside the other there is an electric pump.
The markings on the water tank are only up to 300 ml, but you can pour it to the eyeballs and then there will be the promised 350 ml. For a two-room apartment with a kitchen and a large corridor, it takes me about 200–250 ml in the maximum water supply mode.
The docking station for recharging the robot looks quite standard. Its legs are very tenacious, and when the robot returns to recharge, the docking station remains in place, and does not “stick” all over the apartment. Power supply for 19V with a maximum current of 0.6A. Charging is quite long: from 0% to 100% it takes about 6 hours, but it absolutely does not matter, because only 24% is spent on a 2-room apartment + another 11% is spent on its own washing.
The dock has a power indicator — a small green LED on the top.
The main way to control the robot is through the app. There are statistics and more functions, settings. An alternative control method is a remote control. It will be useful for older people who find it difficult to understand the application and all its bells and whistles. They just pressed a button and the cleaning started. People who are far from technology find it easier to understand the purpose of several buttons than to study all the subtleties of the program, and not everyone uses smartphones. Using the remote control, you can start or stop cleaning, adjust the suction power, start local cleaning at a specific place and manually send the robot where necessary (by pressing the corresponding arrows)
Powered by 2 mini AAA batteries, not included in the package.
Well, and a tool for cleaning the robot: a brush for cleaning filters from dust, a knife for cutting off hair that has been wound around the brush.
And on the back side there is a tool for cleaning the main container from debris.
Let’s look at the design of the robot. There is a small yellow insert between the bumper and the body, which must be removed before starting work. You also need to remove all films that cover the glossy plastic elements.
The design is classic and identical across the entire line of Abir robots. The design differences are minimal: the X8 has a lidar, the X6 has a camera instead, and the base X5 has nothing. The pattern is similar on the case, it looks good and partially masks the dust that inevitably appears during operation. In principle, the plastic, although glossy, looks good, the main thing is not to touch it with your hands, because the prints will be visible. But the dust is not so noticeable and can be easily erased with a dry cloth.
The X8 is the tidiest robot vacuum cleaner I’ve come across. Thanks to the lidar and the additional TOF sensor, he clearly sees the furniture and almost never touches it with his bumper. He does not hammer on the closet as insane, but calmly stops beside him, while scooping out the debris from under it with his brushes. In very rare cases, he still touches the furniture with a bumper, if, for example, it is a table or chair leg, in order to go around it as much as possible and not miss an uncleaned area. For this, a rubber gasket is provided on the bumper and all touches pass quite smoothly and without noise.
And here is the auxiliary TOF sensor, which is located right in the bumper. It is he who helps to determine the exact distance to the object.
But the most important thing is in the “tower”, it is Lidar — a system for detecting objects and distance to them using a laser. As it rotates, the system constantly monitors the environment and quickly corrects the map to change the cleaning algorithm. Already a couple of seconds after the start, the robot sees the whole room and starts cleaning consciously, first determines the area of work and then systematically removes it, after which it moves on to the next area. By the way, a mechanism is built into the tower that protects the robot from getting stuck in tight spaces. When you press on the tower, a click is heard, which is a signal for the robot that it is better not to go any further and come back.
Due to the lidar, the robot is slightly taller than the models without laser navigation. Overall dimensions: 330mm x 100 mm.
Backlit buttons, pressing them also starts or stops cleaning or sends the robot to charge. During normal operation, the house lights up green, when connected to your WiFi network, a small LED flashes between the buttons. When charging, the house flashes orange.
In the event of a critical error, for example, when the robot is stuck, the buttons glow red and the robot announces the situation. Also the error is displayed in the application.
For conversations, the robot has its own “mouth” — a speaker, from where it voices all actions and reports errors. By the way, the robot supports many languages and there is even English. Yes, he can speak English! And if you don’t like talkativeness, you can make it quieter or completely turn off his voice, this is also possible.
The back of the robot. On the left is a grate through which air exits, in the center is a button for removing the container.
Let’s take a look at the work part. In general, everything is standard. We can see the height sensors right away, so the robot won’t come up from the steps.
The side brushes are designed to prevent hair from getting tangled up and will cut off coiled hair less often than conventional brushes. In my experience, it is enough to clean once a week, and everything takes no more than 5 minutes: you shake out the dust from the container, cleaned the HEPA filter with a brush, removed the side and V-shaped brushes and cleaned from the coiled hair using the complete tool. We collected everything back and wiped the surface with a dry cloth from dust.
There is a battery compartment under the steering wheel.
Battery specifications: 3200 mAh at 16.6V, because we have 4 18650 batteries in series. Capacity — 42.92 Wh.
The battery is connected via a 2-pin connector and over time, when the capacity decreases from natural degradation, it can be easily replaced by yourself.
Everything is fine with the maintainability of the vacuum cleaner, all the main units are separate and easily replaced by yourself. Need to replace the right wheel motor? Not a problem! Unscrew the cover, disconnect the connector and disconnect the spring.
The right wheel motor is at your service. The store has some spare parts, containers, brushes, and various consumables like filters and rags.
V-shaped brush perfectly picks up debris and wool from the floor, if there are pets — appreciate it. It can be easily removed to remove coiled hair. If there are women in the dwelling, then this will have to be done periodically.
There is also a small rubber “skirt” above the brush, which will not leave any chance for debris.
The wheel is 7 cm in diameter, the protruding part is 4 cm.
Shock absorbers allow him to almost completely hide in the body, so the permeability is quite high: he climbs on carpets without even thinking, and even overcomes interior thresholds up to 2 cm high without problems.
Now let’s take a look at the application, because with it you can perform many different actions. Well, since many have difficulties at this point, I will describe everything step by step for the initial connection. I performed all these actions when I set the robot to charge and recharged the battery a little.
- Install the WeBack application from the market, register in it and add a new device in the application (press +)
- A camera with a scanner opens, point it at the QR code to connect the robot
- Choose your WiFi, but always in the 2.4 GHz range (5GHz is not supported)
- Then press the power button and hold it for a few seconds until the beep sounds.
- If everything is done correctly, the robot automatically connects to the application and establishes a connection.
The application will check the firmware version and, if necessary, suggest an update. The update is automatic and is carried out via WiFi, the robot cannot be turned off until the end of the process. As you can see, nothing complicated.
Now I’ll tell you about the cleaning algorithm, the first launch of the robot. He scans the room and immediately sees its boundaries, part of the corridor and even the balcony (he cannot enter it because of the high threshold of 5 cm). The robot conventionally outlines a section for itself, which includes most of the room and part of the corridor. First, he goes around the site along the perimeter, then cleans the area in zigzags. Then he removes the second part of the room and moves on, highlighting a new area — the second room (not completely) and almost the entire remaining corridor. Over the next passage, he cleans up the rest of the second room and the rest of the corridor. A table, chairs, a bicycle are not a problem, he goes around only obstacles where he cannot physically pass.
Next, the robot goes to the kitchen, cleans it up, and at the end it returns to the back room for charging. There are no questions about navigation, the robot moves as if it had done it more than once. He knows exactly where to go and how then they will return home by the shortest route. He spent 35 minutes on the entire cleaning and 24% of the charge.
Literally the day before receiving the robot, I cleaned the house with the help of a classic vacuum cleaner, so I didn’t expect to see dust and debris. I was more interested in looking at the algorithm of work. And I was very surprised when I opened the container.
Inside there was quite large debris, sand, hair and a lot of fine dust.
The next step, I immediately carried out wet cleaning. The algorithm is similar, but the washing itself is somewhat different from what I’m used to seeing in other robots. If usually robots just walk the entire area of the apartment, dragging a damp cloth behind them, then X8 does it like a human, he moves in Y-shaped movements — forward and slightly to the right — backward — forward and slightly to the left. That is, he rubs the floor several times in one place, which undoubtedly improves the quality of cleaning, he even was able to wipe small stains from food in the kitchen. Of course, this affects the cleaning time, it lasted 56 long minutes, but he removed it no worse than a man. He spent 12% of the charge. That is, in total, it took 1.5 hours and 36% of the charge to vacuum and wash the floors in a 2-room apartment.
The rag after cleaning looks like this.
And a straight brain rupture — rubbish in the corresponding compartment. The fact is that during wet cleaning, he continues to work with side brushes and a V-shaped brush, working like an electric broom. That is, he sweeps and rakes in the trash and immediately mops the floors. Not bad. All the time that the robot was working, I was resting and had time to watch a movie, the noise did not interfere at all. I set the suction power to medium, and the water flow rate to the maximum.
Let’s take a look at the additional features in the app. You can save your cards and replace them if necessary. How can this be useful? Well, for example, you have a 2-storey house. A map is made for each floor and then simply switches when cleaning on the desired floor. Is that great? Sure! After all, most robots do not have such an opportunity and you have to draw a map anew on each floor, and this is very limiting in some aspects.
For example, you want to send a robot to a specific room to clean a specific area. If the map is redrawn, then this option becomes unavailable. And here you just select the desired map and indicate where the robot needs to move. He quickly navigates the terrain and begins to move to the goal in the shortest way. You can also select a specific area for cleaning by simply highlighting it (green square) or put a virtual wall (red line) that the robot cannot cross.
You can also select a specific area where the robot cannot go for cleaning. Let’s imagine that you have a pet and somewhere in the corner there is its house or, even worse, a litter box (toilet). You mark this area and the robot will go around it as if it were a physical obstacle. What else is interesting? According to the cleaning power, there are: quiet (you can calmly watch TV or read), normal and powerful (important for cleaning carpets). According to the water supply rate: there are 3 levels, but I always put it on the maximum, to say that it emits a lot of moisture — I will not say. A 2-room apartment takes up to 250 ml at the maximum water flow rate.
There is a manual control mode, when you indicate the path with arrows, the same mode is available on the remote control. But it’s best to schedule cleaning this way when you are not at home. Come home from work and your home is clean. You can schedule automatic cleaning at specific times on specific days of the week or every day.
All cleanings are recorded in the log and you can then look at the map with the robot’s movement track.
In the voice notifications section, you can choose the language the robot will speak. There is a English male voice, but I recommend the Korean soundtrack. Of course, no one will sing there, these are just translation inaccuracies. Is that how you think speaking Polish is like? It’s polish! He laughed, but the main thing is that the English voice itself sounds great, without an accent or mistakes. Still, they spent money on a person, and did not use machine speech. By the way, if you don’t like the voice acting, you can turn it off, and you can also adjust the volume of the speech at your discretion. What else is interesting? Cleaning with recharge! If the robot runs out of charge during cleaning, it will automatically return to the base, recharge, and then return and continue cleaning from the place where it left off. By default, the function is enabled, as well as the “overcoming the protrusions” — the function,
To sum up, I can only characterize the Abir X8 from the positive side. It cleans much better than vacuum cleaners with VSLAM camera navigation, not to mention simple models with SLAM. Lidar really opens the eyes of the robot and he begins to behave in a completely different way. The work of the intellect does not raise questions, the robot systematically cleans the room, responding to constant changes in the situation and online correcting its behavior. I will praise the application for its good functionality, convenience and simplicity. It’s user-friendly and it’s easy to figure out the nuances. I will also note the good suction power and the new Y mode for wet cleaning. And what is in contrast? The price, it is undoubtedly higher than that of models without lidar. But there are a couple of points here. Firstly, the price tag of more eminent competitors is even noticeably higher.
That’s all, happy shopping!
