What do you get when you combine high tech navigation and long battery life?
Let me introduce the RX1 Scout, Miele’s first robotic vacuum cleaner. Miele claims that the lithium ion battery will enable this to clean for 2 hours (or 1,600 sq. ft.).
The smart navigation system that consists of a camera, a gyro sensor, cliff sensors, and 7 anti-collision sensors allow this robot to clean in a predictable pattern and avoid furniture all together instead of bumping into them.
Basically this combines two of the best features of its rivals – the Neato and Roomba.
But it getting all these features will cost you literally as this will sell at around $600++ (take note that prices will go down in the near future when newer robots come out) – a few hundred more than the top of the line Roomba 980 and Neato BotVac 80.
Is it worth the extra $$$? Let’s find out.
A quick look at the features
- Uses a “Smart Navigation System” that utilizes a camera, gyro sensor and 7 anti-collision sensors to help navigate the robot in a predictable back and forth pattern while avoiding obstacles
- Lithium ion battery can last up to 2 hours on a single charge and clean approx. 1,600 square feet
- 5 cleaning modes – Auto, Turbo, Corner, Spot, and Remote Control mode
- Triple cleaning mode uses 2 side brushes, a turbo brush and suction to clean dirt off floors
- 22 ounce dirt capacity
Pros
- High tech navigation system make this robot clean in a predictable back and forth pattern
- The collision sensors help this robot avoid furniture
- Long 2 hour run time that Miele claims can clean up to 1,600 square feet in one charge
- Uses a newer lithium ion battery
- Decent sized 22 ounce dirt bin (as big as a DC59)
- Two long bristled side brush has good reach
Cons
- Very expensive
- Motorized brush not as wide as a Neato BotVac
- Does not deep clean carpet
- Error code reporting could use some improvement
- Limited scheduling feature (cannot set it on different times each day)
- Even with the advanced navigation system it still misses spots
What to expect from the Miele RX1 Scout?
First let’s talk about the navigation features. It has a number of sensors and an onboard camera to guide it around and avoid obstacles.
Its main eyes are the camera located on the top of the robot that maps the ceiling to monitor its position to make sure it does not miss spots.
This camera works in combo with a gyro sensor that measures rotation to make sure that the robot goes in the right direction.
To avoid colliding with objects, it has 7 anti-collision sensors around the sides.
Underneath it are cliff sensors that prevent this from falling off “cliff” areas like stairs.
To clean it uses a combination of two side brushes, a motorized brush and suction to pick up dirt.
Take note that this isn’t a replacement for a corded vacuum, even Miele is careful to point this out.
Navigation
Like what I’ve said in the features section, Miele uses a myriad of sensors to help this robot navigate around different obstacles in a room.
The main “eyes” is the camera on top that uses the ceiling to map its position and check if it has missed spots.
A gyro sensor then makes sure that it turns in the right direction when it encounters and obstacle like a chair.
Here’s a demo how it navigates…
Sorry can’t find any demo similar to this in English so this will do for now. As you can see it is pretty systematic in how it cleaned but it isn’t perfect.
Out of the six tests it was able to pass 3 of them – the tests it didn’t pass was not clearing a 5 cm obstacle, it pulled the cable of a lamp and it wasn’t able to go through an aisle.
It has 5 cleaning modes.
Auto mode – the robot will map out the navigation on its own and clean a room or multiple rooms, up to 1,600 square feet before going back to home base for recharging.
Here’s how it will work on auto mode…
Corner mode – similar to the auto mode but robot will only clean corners and edges.
Spot mode – cleans a 6 square foot area, great for spot cleaning.
Turbo mode – similar to the auto mode but it does it in half the time.
Remote mode – allows you to control the robot like an RC car.
Oh one more thing, the camera assisted navigation will not work well on poorly lit areas, you can turn off the lights but it will not be as efficient and will miss more spots.
Will it slean stairs?
Nope.
Scheduled cleaning
Yes it has a scheduling feature but it’s not as feature-rich as a Roomba 980 or Neato BotVac where you can schedule it on different times per day. With Miele, you can only schedule it at the same time for the whole week.
Charging time
Miele does not specify how long the charge time is. But it has an indicator light that tells you the charge status.
Red signifies that there’s only 0 to 20% left.
If its orange then there’s around 20 to 50% left.
Green signifies that there’s 50 to 100% left.
Robot clean up
Miele does provide you with a cleaning brush to remove hair and dust bunnies off the motorized brush.
It comes with a brush tool that you can use to clean the filter. And Miele recommends that you replace it once every 3 months to maintain performance.
Here’s a demo on how to empty the filter…
Run time
On a full charge this should run at least 120 minutes.
Warranty
Miele does not specify how long the warranty is. But according to an online retailer Achoo Allery, it comes with a 2 year warranty on the robot and a year for the battery. This is twice longer than the Roomba or Neato.
Bare floor performance
This robot vacuum has enough power to pick up dirt on bare floor. However, the bigger issue would be if the navigation will be thorough enough to do so.
Check out this video to check how the Miele RX1 did versus 100 grams of dust…
It was able to pick up 78 grams out of the 100 grams which is pretty good.
The key takeaway from this test is that even with the smart navigation system, it still missed some spots in a rather empty room efficiency could be less in a room with more clutter.
Here’s another test, this time 50 grams of sugar on a tiled surface…
It was able to pick up 25 grams out of the 50 and it missed most of the sugar on the upper right corner, again it missed spots.
Carpet performance
To see how this robot does on carpet, please check this video to how it did versus 50 grams of sugar. The test was done on what looks like low pile carpet.
It was only able to pick up 20 grams out of the 50 so tells you that even with the advanced navigation it still will miss spots here and there.
Take note that don’t rely on this as your primary vacuum cleaner but use it as a supplementary cleaner as it will not deep clean carpet.
A demo on how it’ll pick up paper shreds…
Rugs
Miele says that this would have no trouble climbing a rug up to 2 centimeters thick. As for cleaning performance, don’t expect this to be a deep cleaning machine for rugs.
It’ll do well to pick up surface dirt but will struggle with large and heavy debris.
Here’s a surface test, the left most is a plush rug…
Pet hair removal
On hard wood surfaces, it does a good job pick up loose hair scattered around.
The brushes have a tendency to fling stuff around as you’ll see here…
Ok it isn’t exactly pet hair but I just wanted to show you how it did picking up hair strands.
On carpet, consumers have been happy on how much pet hair it was able to pick up on carpet.
Again this is by no means a deep cleaner only a maintenance in-between deep cleaning session robot vacuum.
Product specifications
| Features | |
| Battery type | Lithium Ion |
| Charger type | Charging Station |
| Charge time | N/A |
Run Time  | 120 minutes |
| Net weight (with battery) | N/A |
| Shipping weight | 11.6 pounds |
| Dimensions (Length x Width x Height) | 13.8" x 3.46" |
| Multi Room |  |
| Self docking | |
| Remote control | |
| Hepa filtration |  |
| Cliff detection | |
| Self adjusting | |
| Edge brushes | It has 2 |
| Full bin indicator | |
| Dirt capacity | 22 ounces |
| Stair Cleaning | |
| Cleaning sessions per week | can be scheduled to clean at the same time everyday |
| Extra Filter | It comes with 2 |
| Containment | Uses magnetic strips |
| Brush cleaning tools | Cleaning brush |
| Accessories included | Base station (includes storage for the cleaning brush) Power adaptor Power cord Remote control (with 2aaa batteries included) Cleaning brush 2 side brushes 3 filters Magnetic strip (for containment) |
| Voltage | 110-volts |
| Manufactured in | Korea |
| Warranty | 2 years on the robot 1 year on the battery this is based on achooallergy.com |
What consumers say?
A lot of the people who left reviews are Amazon Vine customers – they receive the product for free in exchange of a review.
From what I’ve read this robot isn’t a deep cleaner but only a surface cleaner that would be best utilized for in-between clean ups, great to use so that dirt and dust don’t pile up. Some have complained that the suction power is weak though it is quiet, a trade off you need to consider before buying this.
The navigation system while very high tech isn’t without its flaws. While this product has a more predictable pattern than the Roomba, it’s still prone to wedging itself into furniture legs.
It also wasn’t able to detect the presence of a cloth window shade and bumped into the glass window.
Consumers mentioned that you’ll have to clear clutter of the floor like toys and move your pets to another room or it’ll have a hard time navigating.
If you’re using this to clean pet hair, make sure to clean the motorized brush so it does not clog.
Overall, consumers say that this robot works more of a sweeper than a vacuum. Navigation while efficient, still isn’t as good as other brands like the Neato BotVac, Roomba 980 and RoboRock S50.
Overall, a lot of consumers say that this is more of a sweeper than a vacuum and while the navigation is good, there are some flaws that could be improved upon.
Where can I buy this?
You can buy this robot vacuum in Amazon for around $600. And it’ll be eligible to their free 2-day shipping if you join Prime.
They also sell extended warranties of up to 3 years if you want that extra peace of mind.
To wrap up
This product would be great for people who have extra money to spare for a high tech good looking robot vacuum but you have to know the limitations of this.
Even with the high tech navigation system that avoids bumping into furniture, it does miss spots here and there, more so on carpet.
It is faster than a Roomba and battery lasts longer than a Neato so in these two areas so it has a leg up against in these two areas.
Despite having edge cleaning mode, it won’t do as well on edges as a Neato BotVac because the motorized brush isn’t as wide and the two side brushes aren’t up to the task.
Miele should consider using a wider beater bar on their next release.
Overall I like the navigation technology that the RX1 Scout brings but it has flaws as it misses spots so it’ll be though to justify spending close to $900 on it when the BotVac 80 can be had for almost half the price.
