Cybovac S31 Review – A smart robot vacuum cleaner with visual SLAM support

I’ve been asked to review robot vacuum cleaners in the past but refused because they were quite basic with a simple vacuum function, obstacle detection, maybe a mopping function, and not much else. But Kyvol Cybovac S31 is different as it integrates a laser distance sensor (LDS) enabling visual SLAM to create a map of your house, and can be controlled with a mobile app for Android or iOS which ended up even more useful than I initially expected.

S31 Smart Robot Vacuum Cleaner Unboxing

The package was much bigger than I expected, mostly because the charging station also includes a dust bag where dust from the main unit is automatically vacuumed each time cleaning is complete.

Kyvol Cybovac S31 smart vacuum cleaner robot

Cybovac S31 specifications
Key features of the system as shown above:

  • LDS robot vacuum cleaner (main unit)
    • 4 levels of suction power
    • Cleaning modes – Auto, area, spot, edge
    • Anti-drop and anti-collision features
    • 2.4 GHz WiFi connectivity for mobile app and/or voice control
    • Battery life – 240 minutes of use per charger (typ) with auto-recharge function
    • Dimensions – 350 mm Φ x 98 mm
  • Automatic dust emptying base (and charging base)
    • Suction power – > 28kpa
    • Dust bag capacity – 4.3 liters
    • Rated working power – 1050 Watts
    • Power Input –  100-120V or 220-240V
    • Integrated charging base –
    • Dimensions – 255 x 225 x 348.3 mm

Kyvol Cybovac S31 unboxing

Once we open the package we get three smaller packages with the robot vacuum cleaner, the charging base, and accessories.

Charging based with dustbin

The charging base comes with a dustbin and dust bag pre-installed

Kyvol Cybovac S31 lidar vacuum cleaner

The main unit comes with power, return to base, and spot cleaning buttons, the LDS (on top in the center), as well as a speaker, a reset pinhole, and several collision sensors.

vacuum cleaner robot speaker sensor

On the bottom, we’ve got the usual brushes (main brush plus two side brushes), three wheels, multiple anti-drop sensors, charging contacts, dust emptying sensors, and more…

Kyvol Cybovac S31 charging brushes

The accessories box comes with the user manual for the product, a user manual for the Kyvol app, spare side brushes, remote control and batteries, a washable mopping pad, ten disposable mopping pads, a water tank (for mopping mode), HEPA filters, and spare dust bags.

Kybol user manual spare parts

If you’ve never heard about Kyvol and worry about customer support, the company offers support in North America, several European countries, and Japan. I haven’t tried support, so I can’t comment.

Kyvol customer support

Time to connect the charing unit to the main, and place the vacuum cleaner on the charging pad to charge it for a few hours.

Kyvol Cybovac S31 Review

Cleaning and Mopping functions (without app)

I first used the vacuum cleaner with the remote control. The vacuum cleaning function works well, and the automatic duct emptying at the end of the cycle is useful if you don’t want to empty and clean the vacuum cleaner each time. For some reason, it’s still recommended to clean after each use in the user manual.

Mopping mode is OK, but not very good at removing water stains from the floor unless I repeat the cleaning two or three times. Manual mopping still needs to be done in some parts. Just like other such vacuum cleaners, Cybovac S31 will only be able to clean reachable areas, so corners and other areas that can’t be reached by the vacuum cleaner will need to be cleaned with a broom.

Kyvol Android app

It’s a Smart vacuum cleaner so the most interesting part is the house mapping function (visual SLAM) made possible by the LDS and WiFi connectivity to connect to your smartphone using the Kyvol Android or iOS mobile app. I don’t own any Apple device, so I installed the Android app on my smartphone.

Setup

After registration with an email or phone number, you’ll be greeted by a welcome screen inviting you to add a device. Kyvol offers several models, and I selected Kyvol S31…

Kyvol registration add device

… to configure WiFi. The power button was already blinking, but after a first failed attempt to connect to WiFI, I decided to reset WiFi just in case. When you do so, you are presented with a pop-up for a 10% discount for a product you’ve probably already bought and haven’t use it. Nevertheless, I could reset WiFi on the vacuum cleaner after turning it off, and press the Home and Spot button for 3 to 5 seconds on the unit. A voice prompt let me know the procedure was complete.

Cybovac S31 reset WiFi

After connecting to a 2.4 GHz access point, we’re being asked to switch to AP mode by selecting KYVOL-XXXX access point, and then wait until the connection is successful… or not!
Kyvol Cybovac S31 connection failed

It would just not work for me. I tried another SSID, and even created another one with no special characters at all in the access point and password. After contacting Kyvol. I was told to try connecting to a hotspot on a smartphone instead of my router. This delayed the review but a few more days, and when I finally tried with the mobile hotspot, it failed again… Then, I thought I have an add blocker on my phone (Blokada), so I disabled it, and it worked. I could reenable it right after the initial setup is complete, and the Kyvol is still working. If you don’t hear the vacuum cleaner says “Connecting to WiFI” right after you’ve selected to KYVOL-XXXX access point, and it’s trying to connect that means the Cybovac S31 did not receive the message, and something may block it.

Firmware update

Kyvol S31 smart vacuum cleaner firmware update

The first time you click on the device, you’ll probably be offered to upgrade the firmware on the device. This will take a minute or so, the vacuum cleaner will reboot, and you’ll see the map of your house if you’ve already used the vacuum cleaner without the app first.

First cleaning with Kyvol app

While the app is aware of your house map, it has not detected rooms just yet. The first cleaning started with the Kyvol app will do just that.

Cybovac S31 smart-vacuum cleaner SLAM create map

We can see the position of the vacuum cleaner in real-time, and zones already cleaned. Ignore the right line on the map for now, as I added it manually. More on that later. Once the cleaning is done it will show rooms detected by the system. It was not quite fully correct on my side possibly because the kitchen and living room don’t have an actual door to separate them. You can actually easily see the doors and even chairs (4 or 5 dots) on the map.

Settings

Before editing the map, let’s go into the settings, as we can do it there.

Kyvol Android App Settings

As one would expect, the vacuum cleaner can be scheduled by time, day and/or the weekday, and it’s also possible to select the suction levels to avoid making too much noise or clean as well as possible.

Kyvol S31 Schedule

The second option in the setting is for map editing. The Kyvol supports up to five floors, but I have not tried this option.

Kyvol Map EditingThe editing function is pretty good, we can merge and divide room, name them properly to match exactly the layout of the house.  Ther’s also an option for virtual walls that can be useful to prevent the vacuum cleaner to go over small steps not detected by the anti-drop sensor, and protect areas with cables, etc…

Cybovac S31 anti-drop detection

My living room has a white floor, so while the vacuum cleaner can detect the small step in the kitchen with a darker floor, it’s unable to do so with the bathroom with a floor that has a similar color. Closing the door of the bathroom would do the job, but it’s open most of the time, so instead, I set up a virtual wall (the red line) that does a great job at it.

Voice volume consumables cleaning records

There are other settings such as volume control for the speaker, a Consumables section which indicates the remaining service life of brushes and the filter, cleaning records, and more.

Room, area, and spot cleaning

You may not always have to clean the full house, and the Kyvol app allows you to select the room to clean.

smart robot vacuum cleaner room cleaningSpot and area cleaning is also possible. Both options are similar, but Spot cleaning target a 1.6 x 1.6m fixed-sized area, while Area cleaning allows you to resize the cleaning area.

Cybovac S31 spot & area cleaning

I really like the app, especially the way it allows you to map your house, and vacuum specific areas. Note the Kyvol Cybovac S31 can be interested with Google Home and Amazon Echo, but I don’t own any smart speakers so I have not tried that part.

App permissions

Kyvol permissionsPeople concerned about privacy (and/or safety) may also be interested in checking out Kyvol Android app permissions that include:

  • Camera
  • Location
  • Microphone
  • Storage
  • Telephone

I’ve not sure why the Camera is needed. Location is also odd except for locating the country of residence during registration or unless the vacuum cleaner can be used in multiple houses, and the app can somehow detect the location to select the right map. Microphone access is probably needed for voice commands, and storage for configuration, while Telephony is for people registering using a mobile phone.

While I’m sure the company has taken precautions and has no mal-intent, a potential data breach could expose GPS coordinates of your home together with a map of your home with the name of rooms, doors location, etc… So maybe avoid names like “safe is here”, “gold storage room”, and so on 🙂

Conclusion

Kyvol Cybovac S31 smart robot vacuum cleaner is probably one of the most useful Smart Home devices I’ve gotten so far. It will save me time, and mostly avoid the chore of cleaning the floor, except for unreachable areas and harder to clean floor stains where only manual mopping will do.

The visual SLAM function works great to a degree of details (doors, chair feet) I did not expect. It’s my first LDS vacuum cleaner, so maybe that’s why I was impressed… I’d wish some vacuum cleaners could climb small steps, so it could mop all my house in one go including the kitchen and bathroom, but maybe I’m asking too much here 🙂

If you are interested in Kyvol Cybovac S31, it’s sold for under $500 on Amazon, Walmart, or Aliexpress, where you also find replacement parts.

Share this:
FacebookTwitterHacker NewsSlashdotRedditLinkedInPinterestFlipboardMeWeLineEmailShare

Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress

ROCK 5 ITX RK3588 mini-ITX motherboard

4 Replies to “Cybovac S31 Review – A smart robot vacuum cleaner with visual SLAM support”

  1. The Xiaomi ones have been using Lidar for a while now. And, if you are not into sharing your apartment distribution with the Chinese government, you can put https://valetudo.cloud/ on them. There is also a youtuber who only reviews vacuum cleaners, you can see there how good they are becoming!

    1. I think you mean Roborock, Xiaomi was marketing them but now they´re selling under their own name. Xiaomi is also selling others under the Mijia brand. The later Roborock models have not been rooted, so no Valetudo/Dustcloud.

  2. I’ve noticed the map will be automatically deleted in the app, if we moved the vacuum cleaner to another room, for example because there’s a step. Apparently, that’s normal!

    I talked to my team, and they said its the commen (sic) issue on laser vacuum and we all noticed on the Manual.

  3. On fresh Android Location permission needed for wifi access as wifi networks around can be used to calculate location.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Khadas VIM4 SBC
Khadas VIM4 SBC