Medion MD 18501

The Medion MD 18501 is the same as the MD 18500 but with a mopping function and a slight increase in price. It is a budget robot vacuum that performs well on hardwood floors and can work as a robot vacuum or mop.

One great thing about not having LiDAR or other high-end navigation systems is that it does not have a turret on the top that will increase its profile and hinder the robot vacuum from gliding under low-lying furniture. The MD 18501 has a low profile that can easily clean under the sofa, bed, and other hard-to-reach areas. As a result, it will clean a broader coverage and access areas that are not given frequent attention but may have a lot of dirt.

Because it does not have a LiDAR or VSLAM that will serve as an eye for the robot to navigate the house thoroughly, the MD 18501 runs blindly and depends on sensors only, so it might frequently get stuck and it might not even cover the whole room in a single cleaning cycle. Still, it is capable of covering the entire house, but just leave small areas uncleaned.

The MD 18501 has three cleaning modes that can be switched around in the remote control. You can set it to clean the whole room, concentrate on a specific spot, or focus on the room's edges only. These cleaning modes give you choices and you can manipulate the robot vacuum according to your cleaning needs.

The MD 18501 can easily switch from vacuuming to mopping. You just have to replace the dust container with the water tank. It does great at both jobs but cannot do it simultaneously. The mopping function does an excellent job at maintaining clean and shiny floors, but you still need to use a regular stick mop at least once a week to remove tough stains that provide a more thorough mopping.

It has an obstacle-recognition feature that causes the MD 18501 to slow down once it recognizes furniture in order to lessen the collision. This also helps it avoid leaving scratches on the furniture and prevents it from pushing light obstacles around whilst cleaning. Additionally, the cliff sensor is helpful for those who have stairs so that the robot vacuum will adjust its path to avoid falling.

Overall, the MD 18501 has well-balanced affordability and functionality. You get what you pay for. It serves its purpose of providing convenience whilst cleaning with its smart features and two cleaning functions (mop and vacuum).