Neato XV-11: Laser-based SLAM robots come home

Increasing time pressure on households has led to changes in how consumers clean their homes. Over the past 15 years, the category of cleaning products has itself shifted in response to consumer demand for ease-of-use and efficiency.  In a market where convenience is critical, robotic floor cleaners should enjoy a broad adoption.  These products have been available for the better part of a decade, but yet remain a niche product. While these products deliver on convenience, they have largely required compromising on performance metrics.

Neato Robotics has pursued development of a product that offers improvements over existing technology by implementing a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) navigation system into the product. Robust laser-based SLAM navigation has long existed in robots outside the realm of consumer products, but the cost of the underlying technology has prohibited its application to a category where a laser rangefinder costs several times more than a premium vacuum cleaner.

Discussion will describe Neato’s approach to implementing SLAM into an economic hardware environment, including development of a low-cost laser rangefinder, and the benefits of this approach affords in creating the robot’s cleaning system. The culminating product, the Neato XV-11, will be demonstrated at the end of the presentation.

Presenter(s)

Patrick De Neale has been involved in the design and development of the Neato XV-11 and its associated technologies since joining the company in 2006, and currently serves as the company’s VP Business Development.  Previously, he was an advisor to the Chairman's Office of Samsung Electronics in Seoul where he led consumer robotics initiatives in cooperation with Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) and Samsung Digital Solutions Center.

Patrick's past work in robotics has included development and deployment of autonomous surveillance robots in industrial environments and robots that have appeared in Hollywood film and TV production.  He holds engineering degrees from Cornell University and UC Berkeley, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business.