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LiDAR and vSLAM are two of the most popular navigation methods used by today’sbest robot vacuums.
Working in conjunction with various sensors, they help therobot vacuum find its wayaround your home.
Robovacs that use LiDAR require a raised navigation puck, which makes them taller
Good navigation ensures your bot cleans your whole floor with no missed spots in an efficient way.
It’s perhaps the most popular navigation method for newer robovacs, and is super-accurate and fast.
vSLAM visual simultaneous location and mapping relies on visual information from the camera to understand the space.
Robovacs that use LiDAR require a raised navigation puck, which makes them taller
It’s typically slower and less efficient than LiDAR.
There are other mapping technologies available, too, although LiDAR and vSLAM are the most common.
LiDAR is used by most high-end robot vacuums.
iRobot bots use vSLAM for navigation, which means they don’t need a raised central puck
LiDAR does exhibit a few downsides.
One is that this method relies on a raised puck, which makes the robovactallerthan it would otherwise be.
There are also a couple oflimitations to how it understands objects.
Floor mirrors have also been known to mess with the reflected light beams, causing inaccuracies in mapping.
Overall, though, it’s an excellent navigation technology.
What is vSLAM?
You’ll sometimes find vSLAM referred to as “camera-based mapping”.
The rig then uses these points to triangulate its 3D position and create a map of your home."
Unfortunately, that’s about it for the pros in relation to LiDAR vs vSLAM.
vSLAM uses a lot of computational power, which makes it significantlyslowerandless efficient.
vSLAM bots canstruggle to find their wayaround if the room isn’t well lit.
vSLAM-based robovacs can also have a hard time navigating spaces that don’t have many distinguishable features.
LiDAR vs vSLAM: which is better?
For the vast majority of people, LiDAR will prove the superior system.
LiDAR navigation is faster and more reliable, with the bot cleaning logically in straight lines.
It doesn’t require the room to be well lit to operate effectively, either.
vSLAM navigation is slower and less efficient.
