Cecotec Conga 7090 IA: object recognition system, 10 kPa power + three brushes to choose from

Hello everyone! This review will examine a rather interesting robot vacuum cleaner called the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA. Made in Spain, this company's robot vacuum cleaners are selling very well in the European market and are among the best-selling models. Cecotec robot vacuum cleaners are just beginning to appear on the market, and the Conga 7090 IA is one of the flagship models. Priced at $500 (about $650), this robot vacuum cleaner features lidar, an object recognition system, dry and wet cleaning functions, a mopping mode, three different central brushes, and a suction power of up to 10,000 Pa. In theory, these features justify the high price. Below, I'll thoroughly test the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA and then express my opinion on whether this robot vacuum cleaner is worth buying. So, let's get started!

Equipment

The robot vacuum cleaner arrived in a branded box like this:

It contains:

1. Charging base.
2. Power adapter.
3. A separate dust collector. Moreover, the robot itself already has a combined water and waste tank installed.
4. Branded sticker for the top panel of the robot.
5. Remote control with power supply elements.
6. A wet cleaning attachment with a microfiber cloth attached.
7. Spare napkin.
8. Spare side brush.
9. Two replaceable central brushes.
10. Robot cleaning tool.
11. Documentation translated into several languages.

Overall, the package contents are very good. They include almost all spare parts, not counting the HEPA filters, and even a remote control, which could be very useful for older people.

Appearance

Let's take a look at the robot vacuum cleaner itself. The Cecotec Conga 7090 IA comes in a black, glossy plastic finish with a round body. It stands approximately 9.5 cm from the floor.

The front mechanical bumper houses a system of sensors and cameras for recognizing objects on the floor. This so-called machine vision technology is called 3Diana. The lidar is equipped with a very stylish backlight.

The control panel features two mechanical buttons: start/pause and forced return to the charging base. The lidar itself is equipped with a spring-loaded cover to prevent the robot vacuum from getting stuck under furniture.

The dust container is mounted at the rear. Inside is a cyclone filter with a striking backlight that shines through the robot's translucent top cover. Additionally, exhaust air is filtered through a mesh and HEPA filter. Incidentally, this container holds up to 600 ml of dry waste.

A combined water and waste container can be installed in place of the dust collector. A pump is installed inside the tank for electronically regulating the water flow. The reservoir holds up to 200 ml of water. The capacity of the waste compartment is not stated, but it appears small and holds approximately 300-400 ml of waste. The filtration system is based on a HEPA filter. Unfortunately, the filters are not interchangeable with the separate dust container.

Let's turn the robot vacuum over and examine its underside. The front has just three fall protection sensors. There's a single side brush: a three-beam, quick-release unit. The central brush unit is floating, which is a plus.

As mentioned earlier, the kit comes with three center brushes to choose from: a standard bristle-petal brush, a rubber brush, and a fluffy brush called Jalisco. It's best suited for picking up dust and hair on hard floors. All brushes are non-detachable; only the cap on one side is removable.

The wet cleaning cloth is attached to a special attachment. Water flows through two holes and is secured to the robot body via a mechanical latch.

Overall, the robot vacuum's build quality is above average. There are a few quirks, but overall, the design is pleasing.

Technical specifications

Main characteristics of Cecotec Conga 7090 IA, declared by the manufacturer:

Battery	Li-Ion 6400 mAh
Suction power	Up to 10,000 Pa
Cleaning area	150 sq.m.
Battery life	Up to 240 min
Dust collector	600 ml
Combined container	≈350 + 200 ml
Obstacle clearance	up to 20 mm
Dimensions	355*97 mm

Functional capabilities

Let's move on to a review of the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA's features. The robot vacuum is controlled via a proprietary mobile app designed specifically for this model. Unfortunately, the app is currently not available in Russian, but the brand promises to improve this and localize the software to improve user experience. Registration and network connection were straightforward.

On the main control panel, the robot vacuum cleaner creates a map of the room, automatically dividing it into rooms, and even independently determines the type of flooring in each room, displaying it with a corresponding image on the map.

Pressing the start button prompts you to select one of three operating modes. The first mode is manual joystick control. The second mode is quick cleaning. There are a large number of settings here, which I'll cover in more detail. First, you're asked to select a driving mode: automatic, floor polisher mode during wet cleaning, perimeter cleaning, spot cleaning in a spiral pattern, cleaning at a selected point on the map, and cleaning in a selected area. Next, you can select a double pass if needed, as well as adjust the suction power, water flow level, and enable automatic power boost when entering carpets. After selecting all these settings, you're asked to set no-go zones on the map, and only then will the robot vacuum begin cleaning.

The third mode is scheduled cleaning. Here, in addition to choosing the time and days of the week, you can flexibly customize cleaning parameters for each room. This means you can choose the desired power level, water flow rate, and even the cleaning order. These same settings are available in the second section of the bottom menu, called "Schedule."

The next section is responsible for artificial intelligence and the object recognition system. Here, you first provide the robot with the initial data needed for self-training, namely: whether there are any pets in the house, how many there are, and whether the "Do Not Disturb" mode is active at a given time. Next comes a section with the object recognition system settings. It can be completely disabled if needed, or the parameters can be flexibly adjusted. We see that the database includes objects such as shoes, socks, cords, chairs, and even pet surprises. All of this will be verified during testing. The robot vacuum cleaner can also recognize carpets and mark them on a map, and even keep track of recognized objects in a log. A general cleaning log is also located here.

The next section in the bottom menu is called "Map." Here you can edit room boundaries, combining them into one or dividing them into multiple zones, as well as name rooms and manually select the flooring type if needed. It's also worth noting that the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA can store multiple unique maps in its memory, which is a plus.

In the last section, Settings, you can change the robot's name, adjust the volume of voice alerts, and enable the so-called final cleaning. This feature isn't entirely clear—the robot simply increases power to maximum and makes a few back-and-forth movements before returning to its base. Perhaps this is the manufacturer's way of preventing debris from accumulating behind the central brush before it reaches the dust bin. I'm not entirely sure. In this section, you can also monitor the status of consumables, check notifications from the robot, and configure voice assistants. The Cecotec Conga 7090 IA supports voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Unfortunately, Yandex.Alice is not yet supported.

Overall, the robot's functionality is quite diverse and useful. All that's left is to resolve the localization issue, and I'll have no complaints whatsoever. The only thing I personally miss is support for separate virtual walls for the wet cleaning mode.

Oh, and it's important to remember that the Conga 7090 IA has an alternative remote control. It allows you to set up scheduled cleaning, manually control the robot, change operating modes, and adjust suction power.

For some, this may be an important or even decisive option when choosing between several premium robot models.

Testing

A detailed video review with all the tests has already been prepared and published on the channel. I recommend watching the entire video:

Navigation

And finally, let's move on to the tests. First, we tested the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA's navigation in a room with obstacles. The robot vacuum cleaner traversed the entire area, first along the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. It got stuck slightly on the dryer, but was able to quickly escape the trap and continue cleaning. It also swept around a box and the legs of a chair, then returned to its base. Test successful!

As for navigating around the house, the robot goes room after room, leaving no areas missed. Cleaning speed is high, and I have no complaints. The test was a success!

Recognition and avoidance of objects

More interesting was testing the object recognition system. Of the seven objects laid out on the floor, the robot's sensors and camera failed to detect only the imitation pet surprise. All other objects worked fine. In fact, it even identified a sneaker, a sock, and a cable, while the other objects it simply avoided.

As a result, the object recognition system is quite accurate. It's slightly inferior to its main competitor. Roborock S6 MaxV, but it is much more accurate than Dreame Bot L10 Pro, Z10 Pro And Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T9 AIVI, when compared specifically to flagship models. It's also important to note that the sensor system responds adequately to carpets; the robot isn't afraid of them and doesn't avoid them. However, in the dark, the system loses its effectiveness sharply, and the robot becomes blind. Overall, it's a solid four out of five in this regard.

Suction power

Speaking of suction power, the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA was a bit disappointing. I was sure it would be able to handle a 10 mm gap on the stand. But ultimately, with all three brushes, the robot vacuum cleaner performed consistently. It can suck up debris from crevices up to 6 mm deep. This is still a very good result, but not the best among robot vacuum cleaners claiming high suction power.

Dry cleaning of laminate flooring

When it came to picking up various types of debris on laminate flooring, the standard bristle-petal brush performed best. The robot vacuum cleaner was able to pick up all the debris, leaving corners unswept, a common problem with most round robots.

The rubber brush also produced good results, but some debris still remained on the stand. The Jalisco fluffy brush performed the worst. Almost all the debris remained on the stand. What the robot managed to pick up became clogged in front of the brush. The engineers left a minimal gap, and large debris, as well as accumulated hair, simply couldn't pass through this gap. Therefore, this brush is suitable only for collecting dust and hair.

Carpet cleaning

Speaking of carpet cleaning, again, the bristle-petal and center brushes were up to the task, while the Jalisco fluffy roller was not. However, with the first two brushes and the high suction power, the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA is an excellent carpet cleaner.

Wet cleaning

The robot's dirt removal performance also tainted my impression. After several passes, even in floor polishing mode, not only streaks but also traces of dirt remained. Then I checked the cloth itself and realized it wasn't pressing firmly against the floor at the sides. The center section absorbed the full impact. Consequently, everything the robot didn't touch with the center section was left on the display.

In real-life household conditions, so-called unwashed streaks are minimal, and the cloth is sufficiently moistened with water. Therefore, for delicate wet cleaning, the situation is not so dire.

Wet cleaning and carpets

A common question for many is how a robot vacuum cleaner behaves when it's wet cleaning on carpets. As a reminder, the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA recognizes them and even has a feature to enable it. Unfortunately, this feature, like the automatic suction boost, only works on high-pile carpets. The robot doesn't recognize medium-pile carpets or carpeted carpets, so it simply passes over them with a cloth, keeping the water supply running. I recommend setting no-go zones on all carpets to prevent the robot from getting them wet during cleaning.

Obstacle clearance

The threshold clearance was quite impressive. The Cecotec Conga 7090 IA easily cleared a 2 cm threshold with and without the wet cleaning attachment.

Driving on dark surfaces

This robot is also not afraid of black surfaces and drives over them without any problems. This is a plus.

Noise level

Finally, we measured the noise level of the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA in different modes. With the suction disabled, the noise level is between 55-57 dB. At minimum power, it rises sharply to 69-71 dB. In medium mode, the noise level is around 73.5-74 dB, and in Turbo mode, the peak was 78 dB. Yes, this robot is noisy. At least, its suction power is above average.

Let's sum it up

Cecotec Conga 7090 IA has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he managed to gain 75 out of 100 pointsHe literally just missed out on making the top ten. best tested robots, but it still placed between its main competitors, the Dreame Bot L10 Pro and the Xiaomi Mijia Vacuum Cleaner Pro, which scored 76 and 75 points, respectively. If the manufacturer at least refines the software and integrates Yandex.Alice, the Conga 7090 IA will score nearly 80 points, which would deservedly make it one of the best robot vacuum cleaners, at least in 2022. Even so, it has its strengths compared to its competitors, although it also has its fair share of weaknesses. Let's take things one step at a time.

I liked the following:

1. Good navigation.
2. A near-precise system for recognizing objects on the floor.
3. Flexible settings of cleaning parameters.
4. Increased suction power.
5. High quality dry cleaning on both hard surfaces and carpets.
6. Alternative control option via remote control.
7. Good equipment, including three central brushes to choose from.
8. The robot vacuum cleaner is not afraid of dark surfaces.
9. Good obstacle clearance.
10. Availability of warranty and service support from the manufacturer.

Speaking about the disadvantages, the main ones are:

1. Poor quality wet cleaning.
2. The central brushes cannot be disassembled to remove tangled hair and fur.
3. There are problems with carpet recognition.
4. The application is not Russified.
5. There is no self-cleaning station.

Ultimately, I had mixed feelings about the robot, and the price is a factor. For $500, I'd expect a practically perfect robot vacuum with modern features. However, the wet cleaning quality and the fact that the app interface isn't adapted for the Russian market were a letdown. On the other hand, the app is intuitive, and the wet cleaning performance is practically on par with the Roborok or Dreamy.

In short, as a vacuum cleaner, there are no major complaints about the Cecotec Conga 7090 IA. Dry cleaning performance is excellent. There are also few complaints about the robot: it's equipped with advanced features and artificial intelligence. So, overall, it's a good robot vacuum, albeit expensive. Overall, it left a positive impression, and if you like Cecotec products, the shortcomings aren't that significant, and it's important that a robot vacuum comes with a manufacturer's warranty and service, I see no reason not to recommend it.

On that note, I'd like to end this review. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments. Happy shopping, everyone. Bye!