Electrolux Trilobite
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The Electrolux Trilobite is a domestic robot vacuum cleaner manufactured by the Swedish corporation Electrolux. It has the ability to map rooms rather than cleaning them randomly, and the use of ultrasonic sensors, which detect obstacles and walls at a distance and thereby reduce the number of collisions.
The Trilobite contains a vacuum cleaner capable of working on deep-pile carpet, and ultrasonic (and infrared sensors on the Mark 2 model). It recharges itself on a charging base, which it automatically finds when has completed its cleaning task or its power runs low.
Unlike simpler robots such as the Roomba, the Trilobite is capable of mapping rooms and determining where it has cleaned. It uses ultrasonic sensors which allow it to come within 1" of objects without colliding with them. This makes the Trilobite appropriate for rooms containing delicate or valuable furniture. This object detection is fairly reliable, but sometimes fails if the robot approaches an object with a sharp corner. In this case, the ultrasonic beam is not reflected, and the Trilobite will gently bump into the object.
Because the Trilobite stops a short distance from walls and other objects, it has been criticised for leaving small areas that are not fully cleaned.
Magnetic strips are used to block off areas that the Trilobite should not enter, and infrared sensors (on the Mark 2 model) protect it from falling down stairs or off ledges.
One crucial advantage over less expensive robotic vacuums is the Trilobite's removable roller brush and replaceable air filters. In the Roomba, fine dust particles are known to cause mechanical failure after sustained daily use. Whereas, in the Trilobite, both the collection pan's air filter and the motor's air filter can be replaced. This has the benefit of both minimizing odor and reducing long-term dust buildup in any internal machinery. The Trilobite's removable roller brush can be cleaned of any hair or particle buildup, which prevents the possibility of snaring the roller and burning out the motor. The agitator brush is much less likely to become clogged, unlike the Roomba which has a bristle-brush and thus can be time-consuming to clean. The Trilobite has an agitator composed of an aluminium cylinder, with six silicon-rubber blade inserts; though the Roomba can actually clean some low-profile carpeted surfaces to slightly better standard.
The Trilobite indicates when the collection cassette is full, preventing accumulated dirt from being redeposited onto the floor.
