Can Beatbot robotic Clean Steps?

The Beatbot robotic systems are designed mainly for cleaning pool floors and walls, although with some limitation to the steps. With its compact design and navigation system, the robot effectively covers flat surfaces and walls, while stairs have presented a particular challenge due to their angled surfaces. In tests carried out by various pool maintenance firms in Australia, Beatbot showed it could clean the horizontal surface of pool steps reasonably well, but it was less effective at cleaning the vertical surfaces of steps. The robot struggles to maintain optimal suction and movement on these sloped areas, reducing its cleaning effectiveness by approximately 20% in these zones.

The main factor affecting the performance of Beatbot on steps is its wheel design, optimized for flat surfaces and gentle inclines. While the adaptive wheel system is excellent in providing maneuverability on pool floors, it lacks the needed traction to climb vertical or near-vertical steps effectively. One Arizona-based technician, a contract pool technician reported that the Beatbot fared reasonably well, cleaning sets of pool steps when they had slight inclinations of up to 30 degrees. They did much more poorly when facing steep stairs, multi-level pool areas, wherein the robot cannot achieve the rear areas of those stair-like steps.

The Beatbot robot has its flaws when attempting to clean steeply set stairways into in-ground pools; though with intervention or manually overriding with assistance, end. For example, one Florida pool service company suggested using Beatbot to clean the floor and walls of the pool, then manually cleaning the steps for the best results. This method was shown to reduce overall cleaning time by up to 10%, while still ensuring that the pool’s most difficult areas, including steps, were cleaned.

Speaking to the capabilities of robotic pool cleaners, including Beatbot, CleanTech Robotics CEO John Schaefer says, “While some robotic cleaners do a fine job on the floor and walls, steps are a different ball game altogether and demand a different type of design for higher vertical mobility. Beatbot is a great performer, but similar to most robots in its class, it faces problems with steep or near-vertical surfaces.

The Beatbot cleans horizontal areas of pool steps pretty well but has very limited capability when it comes to cleaning vertical surfaces. In general, complex pool designs require additional cleaning or extra steps by hand to get the job done.

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