360 has released a budget robot vacuum for those who need a decent machine at a cheaper price. It is guided by a gyroscope and lasts up to 2 hours which is a great result considering strong suction. So what makes this robot attractive for the price?
360 C50 Features
- Gyroscope helps the robot to understand your floor layout
- Electronic water tank (300 ml) allows choosing water levels for hard floors and tile
- A fairly large dustbin holds up to 510 ml of debris
- Strong suction (2,600 Pa) is ideal for carpet cleaning
- Short body helps to reach most under-furniture areas
- Two charging methods: by docking itself and using the power cable
- Compatible with Alexa and Google Home
- Can be tracked in real-time
- Runs up to 120 minutes on one charge
- Can go spiral or zig-zag to clean a spot
- Smaller in diameter to fit in narrow places
Design / mapping and navigation
The 360 C50 is gyroscope-guided. The difference between Lidar and gyroscope is that the Lidar-guided robots scan the surrounding before starting to clean and as a result, they have a map of the area at the beginning. A gyroscope creates a map as the robot cleans, it bumps into furniture and this is how it knows the floor layout.
Another thing is you can’t interact with the map. No setting zoned cleaning and things like that. It is basically a cleaning report.
It follows a back-and-forth navigation pattern and doesn’t miss a spot as it cleans.
Because of not having the LDS laser on top, the robot is shorter and can get under most furniture. And it is 15% smaller than a regular robot vacuum which means it can fit in narrow spaces. The downside of being smaller is that the robot has to spend more time to cover the same area.
Vacuuming
The 360 C50 delivers 2,600 Pa on Max power settings and is able to clean low and medium-pile carpets as well as picking up pet hair embedded in carpets. A relatively large 500 ml dustbin can be emptied every once in a while but I recommend to empty the dustbin after every cleaning for better cleaning performance. The robot also has a HEPA filter that can be washed with water. I would suggest wiping it or vacuuming with a traditional cleaner regularly and wash with water about once a month or so. When you wash it with water make sure the filter is dried up. It may look like its not wet anymore but it can still be wet inside. Use a hairdryer to have it all ready for work.
The robot can be used on both surfaces, hard floor, and carpet
Mopping
The robot comes with a 300 ml electronic water tank which allows setting water output levels for different floor surfaces.
The manufacturer claims it enables up to 120 sq m of mopping.
Note, the robot does not do vacuuming and sweeping at the same time, it can either mop and vacuum.
The robot would not be able to handle tough stains but the mopping function keeps the floor clean for a longer period of time.
The app
The 360Smart app allows controlling the robot by stopping, starting, and scheduling it. You can also see the robot in real-time but can’t interact with the map. You can’t send the robot to work in a particular room or set no-go zones.
Things you can do with the app:
- Start/stop the robot
- Schedule
- Select cleaning mode
- Choose water level output
- Watch the robot in real-time
Verdict
The 360 C50 is a good robot vacuum for a clean layout and a rather small home. It would work well on carpet and hard floor also is a good option if you are looking for a mopping robot for under $200.
If you don’t have too much furniture, want a budget but powerful robot vacuum, have a look at the 360 C50.