Our Rating:
Key Features:
4,000Pa suction
Special pet hair extractor
Onboard HD camera with microphone
Intelligent obstacle avoidance system
Robot Vac Packed with Extra Features for Pet Owners
The Trifo Ollie Pet Edition robotic vacuum cleaner comes with all the same great features we've come to expect from Trifo, plus a few extra perks that make it perfect for pet owners.
In addition to the smart 3D-SLAM navigation, customizable mapping, and 120 minutes of run time, this pet-centric bot features a special pet hair extractor with 4,000Pa suction. These features, combined with an intelligent obstacle avoidance system that detects pet toys, accidents, and obstacles, make the Ollie a great cleaning solution for cat and dog owners.
And, if that's not enough, Ollie also comes with an onboard camera you can use to monitor and talk to your pets and a detachable air freshener that helps mitigate lingering pet odor. There is even a laser pointer to keep your kitty entertained during cleaning sessions.
Review Criteria Ratings
- Up to 4,000Pa suction
- Special brushless pet hair extractor
- Intelligent obstacle avoidance system and motion detection
- Smart mapping technology
- Onboard high definition camera with microphone
- Can connect to Alexa and Google Assistant
- Large and easily accessible dust bin
- Includes HEPA filter and an activated charcoal filter
- Foam prefilter gets blocked quickly
- Can only save one map at a time
- No mop functionality
Should You Buy It?
For pet owners looking for help keeping pet hair off their floors, the Trifo Ollie is a great choice. Not only does this bot feature a no-tangle hair extractor, but it also offers peace of mind thanks to a highly effective and reliable obstacle avoidance system.
Disclosure: It is important you understand that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. All opinions are our own we pride ourselves on keeping our articles fair and balanced. For more info see our disclosure statement.Trifo Ollie Pet Edition Overview
The Ollie Pet Edition Robot Vacuum is the second Trifo Product I've tested.
The Lucy Robot Vacuum, which still lives upstairs in my house and cleans the floors daily, impressed me with its specialty pet hair extractor brush and effective obstacle avoidance features.
The Ollie robot has many of the same features as Lucy, including up to 4,000Pa suction, a high-definition onboard camera, motion detections, and 3D-SLAM navigation. But what makes Ollie even better suited for homes with pets is the addition of an odor-eliminating air freshener and detachable laser pointer.
Additionally, Ollie has a 120-minute battery life, artificial intelligence time-of-flight sensors, over-the-air updates, and customizable mapping.
Trifo, a Silicon Valley-based company specializing in AI-enabled automated household helpers, has four robot vacuums, ranging from the simplified Emma cleaning bot to the original home security vacuum, Max.
I had a chance to test the added features of the Ollie vac in my own home. Keep reading to see my full Trifo Ollie Pet Edition robotic vacuum review.
How The Ollie Pet Performs
With the help of two dogs, a cat, and a toddler, I had the chance to put Ollie to the test in my home. Here is where this pet-centric robot vacuum exceeded my expectations and where it fell short.
Cleaning Power
The Ollie Pet Edition comes with two brush options.
The first is the standard bristle brush you'll get with all Trifo robotic vacuums. This attachment works well enough but doesn't allow the system to reach that top suction point of 4,000Pa. And, most importantly for pet owners, hair gets tangled around it fairly quickly.
The alternative attachment is the pet hair extractor. This piece is brushless and has a focused rubber slit opening to remove hair and debris. Because the opening is so narrow, this attachment amplifies the suction power.
I found that this pet hair extractor attachment worked exceptionally well on hard flooring but, like most robotic vacuums, struggled to release pet hair and fine dust from the carpet.
I used my standard carpet vacuum test to look at this. In this test, I run the robot vacuum over my large area rug, then use my Shark plug-in vacuum over the same area to get an accurate idea of how well the robot vacuum compares to a traditional high-suction manual vacuum.
As you can see from the pictures, the Ollie picked up plenty of dog hair and larger debris, but the Shark was still able to collect a substantial amount of pet hair and fine particles. Like many robot vacuums, the Ollie was not able to penetrate deeply enough into the carpet fiber to suck up embedded dust and hair to match the deep-cleaning power of a manual vacuum.
This leads me to my biggest gripe about the Ollie, which is something I also experienced with the Trifo Lucy model. For some reason, all of the debris that's pulled into the vacuum accumulates on the washable filter screen, despite the large dustbin.
This means that, while suction starts off high, it drops off rapidly as hair and debris clog the filter. Interestingly, the prefilter material of the Ollie is different from that in the Lucy. Unfortunately, the problem persists in both models. Though, I will say the coarser prefilter of the Ollie is easier to clean than the Lucy.
All this is to say that, while the Ollie does a great job cleaning small spaces and flooring that is vacuumed frequently, the filter clogs too quickly, so regular cleaning is a must.
Overall, the Ollie has the power to suck up a lot of pet hair and debris, but this power is limited by the filter design. If you plan to run your Ollie daily or clean only a small space, this likely won't be an issue. But if you have a lot of pet hair to tackle or a large space, you may be disappointed in its overall cleaning performance.
Battery Life
The battery life of the Ollie is comparable to that of the Lucy at around 120 minutes of runtime when fully charged.
Since Ollie can only store one map at a time and is only optimized for cleaning one level of your home, this runtime should be more than enough to get the job done. If you have an expansive ranch home that takes more than two hours to vacuum, the continuous clean mode assures the job will be finished as soon as the robot is recharged.
Navigation
In terms of navigating to create maps and clean, the Ollie does a fairly good job.
This robot does not use LIDAR. It relies on visual 3D-SLAM, depth sensors, and AI learning to map your home. This system isn't as quick at mapping as LIDAR bots, but it is faster than most other alternatives. The absence of LIDAR also has an upside - the Ollie has a lower profile that can easily clean under furniture and cupboards.
The first cleaning with the Ollie took a while as the robot went back and forth between different rooms to complete the map. This back and forth behavior did lessen with each clean, but the pattern was never as efficient as the LIDAR bots I've tried. Still, no corner was left unvacuumed when the robot returned to charge.
Mapping
The maps the Ollie creates are not as clean as those made through LIDAR. Strange artifacts caused by furniture position and stairways are common. These maps aren't as customizable either. There is no way to separate rooms that accidentally get lumped together or merge rooms that should be one.
With each repeated clean, these maps are refined and take on a more accurate shape over time.
As of this testing, the Trifo robotic vacuum can only save one map at a time. Unfortunately, if you're a multi-level homeowner, you'll have to remap each time you clean a new level. The good news is, according to Trifo, there will be a mapping feature software over the air (OTA) update in the future so users can save up to three maps. You can follow the brand's social media accounts for the announcement.
Obstacle Avoidance
Where the Ollie truly shined, though, was in obstacle avoidance.
There's a reason the Trifo Lucy remains the only robot vacuum I have ever put on an automated cleaning schedule in my house. And that's because it's the only robot I trust not to suck up my toddler's toys or get tangled in stray cords.
The Ollie, which has the same impressive obstacle avoidance system, also proved it could be trusted to clean my floors without me tidying them up first.
In my obstacle avoidance test, the Ollie easily avoided pet toys like small kongs and balls. Thanks to the cameras, it never even touched these objects and simply navigated around them with ease. This same system also kept my dogs from getting run into as they lazed about on the floor.
The Ollie was even able to identify and avoid an iPhone cord on the ground and go around it, though it did catch the stray end at one point. Still, thanks to the brushless pet hair extractor, there was nowhere for the cord to get tangled, so it wasn't damaged, and cleaning wasn't interrupted.
If you've been hesitant to get a robot vacuum because your floors are constantly littered with discarded pet toys, kids' toys, or other smaller objects, the Ollie is a safe bet.
Smartphone App and Features
The Trifo smartphone app takes a bit of getting used to, especially if you've used other robot vacuum apps in the past. Some of this confusion comes from the fact that a few of the features work differently than in other systems.
For instance, the spot clean or "designated clean" function must be pre-programmed into the map. This means you can't just send the robot to clean a random mess by tapping a spot on the map. It is a nice feature for areas around the cat box, dog bed, and other spots that routinely need extra cleaning.
Overall, the Ollie has many impressive extra features that you won't find on many other robot vacuums. These include:
- High definition video - Stream video from your robot as it vacuums or while charging to check on your pets while you're away. You can even use the microphone feature to talk to them.
- Manual control - Use the manual control to direct your vacuum to a specific spot to clean or direct the camera to get a close-up of your pet.
- Sliding scale for suction - Over 10 suction settings for ultimate control over noise output and power.
- Room cleaning mode - Clean only specific rooms.
- Global cleaning mode - Clean the entire map.
- Designated cleaning mode - Clean predetermined areas.
- Customizable maps - Label rooms and set no-go zones.
- Do not disturb mode - Prevent disturbances by restricting cleaning to certain hours.
- Motion detection - Get alerts when your robot sees your pets or others moving through your house.
- Cleaning schedule - Set predetermined schedules for automatic cleaning.
- Air freshener - Attached air freshener freshens the air while the unit vacuums.
- Laser pointer - Ollie can entertain your cat while cleaning, or you can remove the detachable laser and play with your cat yourself.
Conclusion
A robotic vacuum is a great investment, especially for pet owners who are constantly cleaning up dog and cat hair.
The Trifo Ollie Pet Edition robot vacuum offers a ton of extra features that are incredibly useful when you have pets in the house. The special pet hair extractor won't get tangled, and the air freshener attachment helps reduce odors. Plus, bonus features like a high-definition camera and intelligent obstacle avoidance will help you keep an eye on your furry friends while keeping your floors pet-hair free.
To learn more about the Trifo Ollie or purchase one yourself, click here.