I am becoming acquainted with my new Wyze vac. So far it’s been fun. However, there is a flaw. When the vac encounters something low, like the bottom of a table, which is a very tight fit, it forces its way under and then gets stuck due to insufficient clearance. A software mode would seem to be indicated to add maybe a quarter inch to the minimum height of a space the system will allow it to enter. As far as I know there is no parameter for the user to change to adjust for that.
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Yeah, mine gets stuck under my daughter’s desk, so I had to put something to stop it from attempting to go under that way. I also put some black electrical tape on the floor near a few areas I want it to avoid (makes the cliff sensors think there is a cliff it can’t pass). Once you’ve mapped the area, you can put some virtual walls right where those stuck areas are to tell it not to attempt that…
I’m not totally sure how they can resolve that issue other than add some kind of bumper to the top of the lidar sensor and make it possible for the vacuum to backup without spinning around. The problem is that the top of the lidar sensor goes just barely higher than the lidar detection waves, so it has no idea there is even something there that needs avoiding and could get stuck. I don’t think there is a way to fix this issue with this model vacuum other than virtual walls, blocking the area, or using something black on the floor to tell it not to go there.
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Thanks for those thoughts. I did put some rolled up old towels at the back of my sofa and that did the trick. However, I was able to do that and keep the towels hidden. The other places, about 3 of them, are open where I would not want barriers to show. I may try some more with virtual walls, but found them really fiddly to adjust.
Yeah, I totally understand. If you figure out any other kind of solution, I’d be interested to hear it.
Oh, I just thought of something. I don’t know for sure how one would implement this (might have to be done by the company with a future model), but what should be possible in theory, is to attach some kind of very thin, but sturdy metal pole to the bumpers that go high enough to cover the above the height of the lidar sensor. If it is positioned just right, it shouldn’t interfere with the Lidar dots going out (if you watch the vacuum through a cam on night vision mode, you can see the dots and spread of the lidar pulses). Then, once set, if the vacuum approaches something at that height, it will depress the bumper, and treat it like there is a wall there and not try to go under and get stuck.
Again, I am not saying I would be able to do this without someone doing a walkthrough video step by step to show me how they did it themselves, but it is an idea of what someone COULD do to resolve this issue.
I think if they have the vacuum go straight back instead of trying to turn out of that type of jam it could solve the problem
I have basically had to adapt my home to the vacuum. Very much like a runaway toddler.