Glossary
Professional floor scrubbing robot: the glossary of key terms
Factual, sourced definitions for the technical vocabulary of professional robotic floor cleaning: navigation, throughput, runtime, compliance and ROI. Each term links to the page that covers it in more depth.
Version française- Autoscrubber #
- An autoscrubber is a floor-cleaning machine that combines washing and vacuuming in a single pass. In its classic form, it is pushed or driven by an operator. Its robotic version, the autonomous floor scrubber, moves on its own using 3D perception, like the Keenon C40.
- Professional cleaning robot #
- A professional cleaning robot is an autonomous autoscrubber designed for industrial and commercial sites: it sweeps, vacuums, scrubs and dries floors without an operator, navigating on its own along programmed routes. The Keenon C40 is a 4-in-1 model of this type, sized for surfaces from 500 to 4,500 m².
- Autonomous floor scrubber #
- Synonymous with professional cleaning robot or robotic autoscrubber: a machine that cleans floors without continuous human intervention, navigating on its own using 3D perception and a route mapped out during installation. See the Keenon C40 specification sheet for a concrete example.
- 3D perception #
- 3D perception refers to the set of sensors (cameras and LiDAR) that let a robot map its environment, detect fixed and moving obstacles, and locate itself in space to navigate on its own. This is the navigation technology used by the Keenon C40. How this data is handled is detailed on our GDPR / on-device processing entry below.
- LiDAR #
- LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a sensor that measures distances by emitting laser pulses, used alongside cameras for a floor scrubbing robot's 3D perception. It detects obstacles and people regardless of lighting conditions, which is useful for deployment in underground car parks or dimly lit warehouses.
- Coverage (m²/h) #
- Coverage in m²/h measures the surface area a floor scrubbing robot can clean in one hour: it is the key figure for sizing a deployment on a large site. The Keenon C40 reaches up to 1,100 m²/h. This figure feeds directly into the ROI calculator.
- Runtime #
- Runtime is how long a floor scrubbing robot can operate on battery before recharging. It varies by mode: on the Keenon C40, runtime reaches up to 5 hours in scrubbing mode and up to 12 hours in sweeping-only mode, with a full recharge in 2 hours.
- Scrubbing #
- Scrubbing is the mechanical washing of the floor: brushing combined with water dispensed from the clean water tank, followed by vacuuming of the dirty water. It is typically the most energy- and water-intensive mode on a floor scrubbing robot, and therefore usually the one that determines the shortest runtime.
- Sweeping #
- Sweeping covers dry pickup of dust and solid debris, without water, generally via side brushes and a dust bag. On a 4-in-1 robot like the Keenon C40, sweeping combines with or alternates with scrubbing depending on the floor condition being addressed.
- Vacuuming #
- Vacuuming refers to the function that collects dirty water after the scrubbing squeegee has passed (into the dirty water tank), or fine dust in dry mode. It is one of the four combined functions of the Keenon C40, alongside sweeping, scrubbing and dust mopping.
- Clean / dirty water tank #
- A floor scrubbing robot carries two separate tanks: one for the clean water used during scrubbing, and one for the dirty water recovered by vacuuming after the squeegee pass. Their capacity determines the real runtime before a tank swap: the Keenon C40 carries 16 litres of clean water and 14 litres of dirty water.
- Payback / ROI #
- Payback is the time it takes for the savings generated by a floor scrubbing robot to offset the initial investment. It is calculated from the surface area to cover, the manual cleaning hours currently used and the loaded hourly labour cost. Run your own numbers, without commitment, on the ROI calculator.
- Loaded labour cost #
- Loaded labour cost is the real cost of an employee to the business: gross salary plus employer contributions and social charges, always higher than the net salary the employee receives. This figure, not the net salary alone, is what should be used in the ROI calculator to correctly estimate the savings from automating cleaning.
- HACCP (food processing) #
- HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) is a food-safety risk management method that requires documented traceability of cleaning in sensitive areas. In food processing, a floor scrubbing robot works alongside HACCP protocols, mainly on circulation and storage areas.
- GDPR / on-device processing #
- On-device processing means the data captured by 3D perception sensors (cameras, LiDAR) stays local to the robot for navigation purposes, without being sent to an external server. This is our deployment commitment on the robots we deploy, alongside the GDPR compliance of Keenon's cloud platform (certified 2023).
- Official distributor #
- An official distributor is the entity authorised by the manufacturer to sell, stock and provide after-sales service for its products in a given market. Robot Laveuse Pro operates through Robonex SAS, Keenon's official distributor for France, with stock held in Europe and European technical support engineered by our French team.
Frequently asked questions
The glossary in practice
What is the difference between a classic autoscrubber and a professional cleaning robot?
A classic autoscrubber is pushed or driven by an operator. A professional cleaning robot moves on its own, without a driver, using 3D perception. See the professional cleaning robot entry and the Keenon C40 specification sheet.
What determines a floor scrubbing robot's coverage (m²/h)?
Coverage depends on sweeping and scrubbing width, travel speed and the mode used (sweeping only or full scrubbing). See the coverage (m²/h) entry and the ROI calculator to estimate the impact on your site.
Is the data captured by the robot's LiDAR and cameras sent externally?
No, in our deployment configuration: processing stays on-device for navigation, with no exfiltration. See the GDPR / on-device processing entry.
Still unclear on a technical term for your project?
Describe your site and constraints: we'll respond with a quote and a demonstration matched to your vocabulary.
Request a quote / demo