If you're curious about the crazy robot vacuum that avoids even the unimaginable while cleaning along the thin wires and the curvy outlines of the curtains, let's keep watching until the end. The Narwal Alfreo Z Ultra advertisement has come out. It's a product that caught the last train this year from a major Chinese brand, so expectations are high regarding how it differs from previously released products. As expected, the vacuum is impressively clean. Let's quickly dive into the Narwal Alfreo Z Ultra, focusing on a two-month usage review and testing. 

For the evasion test, if I had to pick just one standout feature from the new model, it would be its unparalleled evasion ability. It truly has a level of evasion performance that is in a class of its own. This impressive capability is made possible by its physical design and the navigation technology it employs, surpassing all currently available products.

It has an overwhelming level. First of all, the physical aspect of the new Narwal model features two front camera sensors. Nowadays, it is standard for flagship models to come with two front camera sensors. This can be said to be similar to the bears of self-deprecation and conservatism, but these types are different. The most sensitive camera sensor that can recognize depth is the RGB camera, which is advantageous for accurately digitizing real-life images. In general products, there are typically two front sensors: one RGB and the other an infrared camera sensor, which are combined. However, in the case of the new Narwal model, it boldly uses only two RGB cameras without any infrared, achieving a full RGB setup. The magical aspect is also overwhelming, as the main processing chip is also dual. Typically, flagship models have one main processing chip, but in this case...

The main chip was already overwhelmed just by creating a cleaning path algorithm on its own, and now it's expected to calculate obstacle identification information and avoidance paths as well. It's no wonder the main chip is frustrated, thinking, Forget it! One of the issues it encounters is a lagging phenomenon similar to backwalking when it meets an obstacle. However, there's an AI chip dedicated to identification and avoidance, which helps to share the workload of the main chip. The results are fantastic; I've tried dozens of robots, but this one truly has no backwalking phenomenon. Even with complex chair legs, there was no backwalking at all. The perfect synergy between physical and magical elements is, without a doubt, the real-time recognition and analysis capabilities at a level comparable to Kerbal. This video was shot when I went to Berlin, and if you look at the screen, you can see the current Narara Preo Jet Ultra in front of me.

They are not only categorizing obstacles like pets and cables accurately but also calculating the distance of those objects in real-time, down to 0.1 centimeters. They assess the risk level according to the categorized objects to determine how close they can clean. It's truly amazing! The technology is so advanced that it took a while to explain, but ultimately, what we want to know is how it performs in practice. They conducted step-by-step tests using the same obstacles that all major cleaning robots faced this year. First, they tackled the basic poop replica, which they handled effortlessly, showing no hesitation or backward movement. What's impressive is the avoidance radius; typically, increasing the sensitivity of avoidance leads to a wider avoidance radius, but in this case, even with maximum sensitivity, the avoidance radius was surprisingly small.

In reality, the most commonly encountered wires, both thick power cables and thin phone chargers, were easily avoided. Even thin objects, less than 2 cm, were effortlessly dodged. It seemed as if the dual camera accurately recognized the size and distance, maintaining a short distance and avoiding obstacles in one go. This precise distance adjustment was clearly noticeable when avoiding the wires laid out like a ruler. Depending on the direction of the thin phone charger, the movement patterns were remarkable; it was difficult to find such an impressive level of evasion in any of the previous models released. The peak of the evasion test was the challenge of avoiding a string that was just about 3 mm high. Even Samsung, which can recognize obstacles as small as 1 cm, ultimately could not pass this test. The only brand that passed this year had an evasion distance of over 10 cm, which was quite significant.

It was wide, but in the case of Nar, it reportedly managed to avoid obstacles with a minimum proximity distance of about 2 cm, which is five times shorter than the usual evasion distance. There are two advantages gained from having such a small evasion radius. First, it minimizes blind spots during cleaning. As seen in the demonstration of its cleaning capabilities, it moves along the edges, cleaning closely to obstacles, which results in fewer areas left uncleaned. To give you an idea of how effective it is, I was truly amazed when I saw it cleaning while weaving in and out along the uneven edges of a curtain. Especially impressive was how it recognized the slightly protruding rotating brush of other robotic vacuum cleaners and managed to avoid them with minimal movement. The detail of being able to bring the cleaning side closer to obstacles to reduce the evasion distance is an added bonus. In the case of low furniture with no patterns, the evasion rate is notably high.

I can't avoid it well, but I managed to dodge it lightly. Secondly, moving between obstacles is easy. As I mentioned earlier, increasing evasion sensitivity widens the evasion distance. However, there are many cases where I can't pass through the narrow spaces between obstacles due to a short evasion distance. This has the advantage of being able to squeeze through narrow paths or complex obstacles without any issues. However, no matter how good the evasion ability is, it can't be perfect, so let's not try to dodge when there are things like dog poop at home. Even a 1% chance can lead to a disaster. 

Now, let's talk about the hair curl test. When we conduct the hair curl test, the one that has firmly protected the imperial crown throughout history is Narwhal. Last year's outdated model had one side exposed, demonstrating a mechanism where hair does not get tangled and is sucked in. I remember it was so unique that not a single strand got tangled. Since then...

I have never seen hair get tangled in the main brush while fighting for a year. This new model continues the same form of this mysterious main brush, but we can't just overlook the tests. I conducted experiments after evenly distributing natural hair grams, just like the existing tests. However, what's surprising is that the avoidance sensor is so powerful that it recognizes slightly clumped hair as an obstacle and avoids it. As a result, some hair was not suctioned, leaving a small amount behind, but I don't think it will significantly affect the results. Anyway, looking at the results, wow, not a single hair got tangled! Even the most vulnerable white hair remains untangled, confirming the performance. As for the suction power test, the product specifications state that the suction power is 12,000 Pascals.

The specifications are just numbers, but what really matters to the older brothers and sisters is the result. So, how did the actual test go? First, they spread 100g of large job's tears evenly and conducted the test. When they checked, the powerful suction indicated by the specifications cleaned it up perfectly. In fact, it showed a 100% suction power with just one piece of job's tears. Ultimately, the results varied significantly among the brands. They tested the suction power of small sugary substances by spreading them evenly on a 100g carpet. After conducting the suction test, it appeared that there was quite a bit left behind, and the actual measured result showed that 35g remained, achieving a suction rate of 65%. This is the lowest figure recorded among the tests conducted so far, primarily due to the shape of the main suction brush. Typically, anti-tangle brushes should have a structure that allows hair to escape easily.

Due to a lack of sufficient power to scrape the floor vigorously, it shows a weak performance in scraping and sucking up small particles embedded in the carpet. Ultimately, it has an unprecedented hair entanglement prevention performance through equivalent exchange, but conversely, its ability to suck up small foreign substances embedded in the carpet is somewhat lacking. However, as can be seen from the results with Job's tears, its performance in sucking up dust or foreign substances in daily life is more than adequate. Considering my own floor type and hair level, it seems like an area that can be adjusted. Personally, I think it would have been better if there had been an option to replace the regular silicone brush according to the situation. 

Now, the wet mop test. Traditionally, the wet mop has been a strong suit of this brand. As a pioneer in the field of rotating mops, the pressure on the mop is 12 Newtons.

It has the highest level of specifications, so expectations for the results are high. In the previous tests, I experimented with strawberry jam and peanut butter spread on a 2cm by 2cm area to test the cleaning performance. The result was that the strawberry jam was wiped away instantly, leaving a really squeaky clean feeling. Up to this point, it’s at a beginner level. 

Now, moving on to the hard level, the peanut butter spread was also cleaned well, although some traces remained. This level of performance could be considered around the current second-tier standard. Lastly, I tried to clean a 24-hour-old mixed coffee stain, which also left just a slight trace, showing a cleaning power that aligns with the current second-tier level. The basic cleaning power is definitely top-notch, but the decisive difference compared to the first and second levels was...

It was due to the cleaning path. No matter how high the pressure or how good the cleaning strength is, for stubborn ocean contaminants, the cleaning path needs to be significantly narrowed and overlapped to be effectively cleaned. In the case of Nar, the cleaning path can be narrowed with a meticulous approach, but the spacing in this mode is slightly wider, so there was a small difference. The lifting height of the mop was 10mm, which is a standard level. 

Regarding the threshold crossing test, traditionally, the implicit standard was around 20mm. However, recently, there has been a trend showing quite competitive performances related to threshold crossing. The new Narwal model reportedly has a specified crossing height of 20mm. It was tested in real scenarios to see how well it could perform, testing in 1mm increments. When testing at 16mm, it easily crossed over, and 17mm was also crossed without issue. As for 18mm and 19mm, and the specified...

The 20mm level was shown to be exceeded, but it displayed a very honest result, just surpassing the specified height of 20mm without exceeding 21mm. The honest score is a perfect score. Now, one of the most important aspects of the robot vacuum cleaner is the station's performance. We conducted a focused test on the cleaning performance related to the station. 

First, regarding the element that can enhance cleaning power, which is the temperature of the hot water, the brand claims that the AI automatically adjusts the temperature based on the material, stating it ranges from 45 to 75 degrees. When I measured the cloth, it showed a temperature of about 45 degrees. 

In any case, what’s important is that in a practical test, after spraying soy sauce of 2.5mm on the cloth, we checked the cleaning results at the station. One of the indicators of confidence in the cleaning power of the cloth is that it should be white, and after cleaning, it really showed a significant reduction in the soy sauce stain.

They said they didn't see the virgin. The eye test is the eye test, and what we need is solid evidence. So, I grabbed a new mop and tested the turbidity of the water that came out. It turned out to be a level where brownish tint was hardly present. In my case, I don't use detergent during station tests to confirm the same performance, and this level was almost at the top tier. When comparing with other brands, it can be seen that the performance is not bad and is quite clean. In fact, the most noticeable part was that the mop was cleaned with water processed through electrolysis. It showed the process of electrolyzing water when cleaning started through the side window, and ultimately, it was a key point that demonstrated the antibacterial effect. Although it hasn't received official certification in the country yet, it's hard to comment precisely, but at least after using it for over a month in a typical household environment...

The odor of insects was significantly suppressed, which was quite impressive. Naturally, the detergent is also detachable. Compared to a typical station that simply cleans and dries with a wet cloth, this one dries the dust container using hot air, allowing for better management of the dust container. The suction noise of the station was tested and measured at 70.4 decibels, ranking second overall this year. When tested in the same space with maximum suction and mopping mode, it ranked second overall for the year 2024, and the noise was also relatively quiet. The Narwal Alfreo Jet Ultra has the advantage of good avoidance rate, which was thoroughly discussed through testing. Another significant advantage gained from the high recognition rate that enables this avoidance is the ability to identify and separate dry and wet foreign substances for separate cleaning. This allows for effective management of various liquid contaminants.

When cleaning with foreign substances left in place, the device recognizes these substances and cleans more thoroughly, which is truly impressive. First, if there is a lot of dry debris, it automatically lifts the mop to accurately measure the perimeter and cleans that area in a grid pattern. In the case of wet debris, both the rotating brush and the main brush are lifted to prevent contact, then it accurately measures the perimeter to clean with just the mop. This separation of wet and dry cleaning is all done automatically, and it is truly a remarkable achievement of advanced recognition sensors and computation. Moreover, when observing regular cleaning, the device adjusts the RPM of the left and right rotations according to the situation, which makes me think it’s not far from being a sky-level product. Regarding suction power, I have felt while using it that the true strength of the product lies in its high suction power, as evidenced by the leftover debris in the dustbin.

The dustbin structure of the Narwal is quite different from that of a typical vacuum cleaner, as it features a double structure. The internal dustbin is shaped like a cylinder, which, according to Narwal, allows for faster airflow, enabling it to suck in foreign particles more powerfully. This might explain why, during the usual sugar and hair tests, the Narwal's internal dustbin had significantly less debris, such as hair, compared to others. Additionally, the rapid airflow helps to compress the contents of the dust bag more effectively, allowing Narwal to claim that it can be used for up to 120 days. The large control panel at the top of the station makes it easy for elderly users, who may find app usage challenging, to operate it intuitively. However, the Narwal Freo Z Ultra does have its drawbacks, particularly regarding its maneuverability, which is notably less agile than other models.

There were several drawbacks. First, it was said that it needed to be cleaned while staying within 1 cm of the wall. While minimizing blind spots is good, being too close sometimes resulted in it lightly bumping into the wall. Additionally, although the RGB camera is quite effective for obstacle avoidance, after using it for a long time, I became aware of its shortcomings. One of those shortcomings is that it has a lower recognition rate for shiny objects. When a shiny stainless steel material is placed, its ability to avoid obstacles diminishes, leading to slight collisions. Similarly, shiny surfaces like Lego pieces were not perfectly avoided, even if they weren't very high, and it showed slight contact. This was also evident in the video shot in Berlin, where among the three objects recognized by the robot, a cat toy and cables...

In some cases, the RGB sensor accurately recognizes the outline, while with the shiny plastic earphone case, you can see that the recognized outline shakes. I wonder if this slight shaking is causing some errors in distance recognition on shiny surfaces. Personally, I see this as one of the biggest drawbacks of the new model, which is the color scheme. I mean, did it really have to be this flashy? A clean design was one of the unique strengths that completed the aesthetic of the brand, so why did they have to do this? To be honest, it feels reminiscent of the old days of the variety show, with a vibe that resembles a flashy suit. It has a very continental feel to it. While it can clean corners with a swinging motion, it lacks the latest trend of mechanical aesthetics, which is a bit disappointing. Lastly, due to the late entry of the Chinese Four Kings brands into the Korean market...

There seems to be a certain disappointment regarding the domestic market in preparation for the economic event. It seems that several bundles of rabbit fur are included in this product. At first, I wondered what this was for, but it turns out that it is used for cleaning the walls when attached to the side. However, it seems like there won’t be much use for it in Korea. The launch price is 1,690,000 won, which is absolutely expensive, but considering the specifications, it’s a price that has performed better than expected compared to the major three companies. This is because the RGB camera is more expensive than regular cameras, and it has two processing chips, which raised concerns about it being more expensive than competitors. To summarize the conclusion about this product, its incredible maneuverability and ability to prevent hair tangles are unparalleled, and its station performance and mopping capabilities are also top-notch in the industry. There are quite a few wires in the house, and it seems a bit tricky to handle.

It seems that the most suitable product for this complex environment has been identified. Personally, I am using it as the main vacuum cleaner in my office, which is exactly this kind of setting. If you have used it, please subscribe and set the alarm clock. If you have any questions about the product, let me know in the comments.

과연 24년 최고의 로봇청소기일까? 개쩌는 무빙의 나르왈 Freo Z Ultra 리뷰ㅣ니돈내맘

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