BotVac robot machine

BotVac

Neato is a robot vacuum that uses an advanced laser sensor to map and navigate rooms. It detects walls and objects and cleans close to edges and around objects, without bumping into your furniture.

CREATOR

Neato Robotics 

COUNTRY

United States 🇺🇸

YEAR

2012

TYPE

Consumer

SPECS

 FEATURES

Vacuum and brushes designed for carpet, wood, and tile floors.

 Square front and low profile for cleaning close to walls and corners.

 HEIGHT

10.2 cm | 4 in (Neato XV Signature Pro model)

 LENGTH

32 cm | 12.5 in

 WIDTH

33 cm | 13 in

 WEIGHT

5.9 kg | 13 lb

 SPEED

0.9 km/h | 0.5 mph (max)

HISTORY

The idea behind Neato was born in a classroom.

Joe Augenbraun was a Stanford grad student with an eye on starting a robot company.

He didn't have a specific product in mind and was still looking for that "great idea"

when he met classmates J.B. Gomez and Linda Hirschhorn Pouliot.

Gomez had a background in business development and,

like Augenbraun, an interest in robotics. Pouliot was looking to use her manufacturing

and product experience to create a start-up focused on products for women.

The trio entered Stanford's annual Entrepreneur's Challenge, which required

them to develop a business plan for a new company.

When they eventually decided to take a look at the emerging market of floor cleaning robots,

they weren't impressed. Existing robots used software algorithms that made them

move almost randomly, taking far too long to clean.

So they set out to develop a better solution: a robot equipped with an intelligent navigation

system using lasers and cameras. In 2010, Neato released its first robot vacuum.

Today, the concept of a smart laser guidance system is the heart of every Neato robot.

And all over the world, the three classmates' project is working hard

so people can have a little bit more free time