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Cobi 18 Manual, Quick Start & Wall Chart

What Is Cobi 18?

Cobi 18 is a compact autonomous floor scrubber.

A cobot is a collaborative robot designed to work alongside staff by taking on repetitive tasks like floor cleaning. A cobot frees up staff to focus on other high-priority tasks and to focus on delivering the best service possible.

Cobi 18 is designed to work on most hard flooring surfaces including hardwood, ceramic, PVC, marble, granite, artificial marble, epoxy, and more.

Cobi 18 excels in its ease of use due to the simple user interface (UI) and the quick and easy steps to deploy and maintain it. Check out our quick start guide to learn more.

Cobi 18 Quick Start Guide

Cobi can operate for 60-90 minutes, depending on if it’s running in ECO or MAX mode.

The cleaning path of Cobi 18 is 18.8 inches or 48 centimeters.

Cobi 18 can clean up to 800 sq/m or 8,500 sq/ft per hour, depending on the complexity of the environment.

How Do I Set Up and Use Cobi 18?

The first time you set up Cobi 18 and create a route, you will need to do the following:

  • Place the home location code on the wall at a height of 24 inches (60 cm) above the floor.
  • Place Cobi 18 in front of the home location code at a distance of 30 inches (80 cm) away from the wall.
  • Select “Teach Route” on the teach mode screen.
  • Select “Add New Route.”
  • Choose the route type: Custom Mode or Autofill Mode.
  • Press the blue start button to begin.
  • Push Cobi 18 on the path you would like it to clean.
  • Return Cobi 18 to the home location code to scan it.
  • Choose “Save Route” in the menu.
  • Now you can choose any of your saved routes to run autonomously.

Yes, each Cobi can save and access up to 60 cleaning routes. Each Cobi comes with 10 HLCs (home location codes) and each HLC can store up to 6 routes. These routes can be shared with other Cobi’s deployed at the same site.

ECO Mode: Cobi is operating with moderate water flow and vacuum power. This is recommended for daily maintenance scrubbing.

MAX Mode: Cobi is operating with higher water flow and vacuum power.  This is useful for heavier-duty scrubbing. In this mode, Cobi will generate more noise and will use up the battery power more quickly.

DRY MOP: Cobi is performing its routes but without dispensing water or cleaning solution to the floor. This mode is ideal for picking up dust and light debris from the floor. To operate in this mode, please attach the dry mop to the back of the Cobi.

A custom route is when a user pushes the machine along a desired path preparing it to run autonomously. Once the route is mapped and saved, Cobi can be deployed to clean this specific route autonomously.

An Autofill route allows the user to trace the outline of the space to be cleaned. Once the perimeter is mapped, Cobi will develop its route to clean the entirety of the designated area, while avoiding any obstacles within that area. Whenever Cobi cleans that autofill route, it will continue to learn and optimize the route design.

There are a few tasks to complete before you run Cobi 18 to ensure optimal usage.

  • Check to make sure Cobi’s battery is charged.
  • Unplug and store the power cord of the charger.
  • Check that the recovery tank is empty or when needed, empty the recovery tank and rinse it.
  • Before each use, add clean water and appropriate detergent to the solution tank.
  • Check cliff and lidar sensors for any obstructions. Clean with a microfiber cloth if needed.
  • Ensure the brushes, hopper tray, squeegee, and optional dry mop are properly installed.
  • Turn ON the power on Cobi 18.

Related Materials: Cobi Maintenance Checklist

  • Turn OFF Cobi 18
  • Empty and rinse solution and recovery tank
  • Remove the squeegee assembly. Clean it by flushing water and wiping it with a clean cloth.
  • Check brushes and clean them when needed.
  • Remove and clean the hopper.
  • Wipe off cliff sensors with a microfiber cloth.
  • Remove and clean the dry mop.
  • Charge Cobi for the next route deployment.

Related Materials: Cobi Maintenance Checklist

Best daily maintenance practices include the following:

  • Empty recovery tank
  • Clean hopper tray
  • Clean squeegee
  • Clean brushes and remove residue
  • Clean dry mop

Related Materials: Cobi Maintenance Checklist

Regularly maintaining Cobi is easy and important. Check out our maintenance videos for daily and weekly easy-to-follow tips and download our Maintenance Wall Chart to keep on hand in your facility. Taking care of Cobi is the key to keeping it running efficiently. When you take care of Cobi, Cobi takes care of you.

Related Materials: Maintenance Wall Chart

Navigation Technology

Yes, Cobi 18 can autonomously perform cleaning routes making it easy for your team to complete the daily floor cleaning. Cobi is a cobot and works alongside your team, meaning it still requires a human to set it up and perform routine maintenance.

The highly sophisticated navigation system is driven by AI and equipped with cameras and sensors. It enables Cobi 18 to navigate around large obstacles (such as escalators), reflective surfaces (such as mirrors and glass), and sunlight and other bright light conditions.

Yes, Cobi 18 can run on WIFI if your organization prefers that option. Otherwise, Cobi connects via 3G/4G networks to avoid other edge devices on customers’ secure networks. If you would like to set up WIFI for your Cobi unit, please contact our client care teams.

US: Clientcare@icecobotics.com

EMEA: cc@icecobotics.com

Cobi 18 is designed to navigate slight inclines and declines. If the layout in your facility includes elevation changes, please review the Cobi 18 Operator Manual for best practices.

Related Materials: Operator Manual

Service & Support

Cobi units typically arrive within 3-5 business days from the ship date. You will receive an email notification as soon as your Cobi ships.

ICE Cobotics offers a wide variety of virtual training tools including the Automation Academy, training, and troubleshooting videos, the manual, a quick start guide, and more. Additionally, our Client Care team is here to help. You can contact them at

US: Clientcare@icecobotics.com.

EMEA: cc@icecobotics.com

For optimal cleaning performance, the brushes, squeegee, hopper, and dust mop will need to be replaced on a routine basis, depending on how often Cobi 18 is used.

Related Links

Consumables can be ordered through our support form below:

Support Form

Our Client Care and Service teams are here to assist. Fill out the form below and our team will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Support Form

I-SYNERGY Fleet Managment Software

Cobi units typically arrive within 3-5 business days from the ship date. You will receive an email notification as soon as your Cobi ships.

ICE Cobotics offers a wide variety of virtual training tools including the Automation Academy, training, and troubleshooting videos, the manual, a quick start guide, and more. Additionally, our Client Care team is here to help. You can contact them at

US: Clientcare@icecobotics.com.

EMEA: cc@icecobotics.com

For optimal cleaning performance, the brushes, squeegee, hopper, and dust mop will need to be replaced on a routine basis, depending on how often Cobi 18 is used.

Related Links

Consumables can be ordered through our support form below:

Support Form

Our Client Care and Service teams are here to assist. Fill out the form below and our team will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Support Form

Data & Privacy

Cobi collects two types of data.

  •  Cleaning Route Data: Cobi creates and saves cleaning routes. This feature allows users to seamlessly transition between units if multiple units are used at the same site.
  •  Sensor Data: While performing a cleaning route, Cobi is gathering and analyzing navigation data to understand its environment and identify and avoid obstacles. This feature allows for Cobi’s safe operation in dynamic environments.

Cleaning route data is saved on ICE Cobotics’ cloud server so that Cobi units deployed at the same site can share and exchange maps.

Sensor data collected by the Cobi is used to make real-time navigation decisions but is not stored on the Cobi and is not uploaded to the cloud. Cobi will not retain sensor data.

Cobi’s navigation technology has been designed to develop maps and to identify and navigate around obstacles. It does not have the capability to recognize faces or read text.

General Operating Questions

  • Cobi 18 is different from other cleaning solutions because it is a cobot. It is a highly sophisticated autonomous scrubber designed to work alongside staff members, freeing them up to focus on higher-priority tasks.
  • Cobi 18 takes on mundane and repetitive floor cleaning tasks that can cause injury, take up valuable time, and ultimately lead to staff dissatisfaction.
  • Cobi 18 allows your staff to be more productive, focus on other tasks that help your facility stay even cleaner, and focus on customer service—all to benefit your clients and your business.

Cobi offers several benefits.

  1. Cobi makes it easy to free up staff from repetitive floor cleaning work and allows them to focus on higher-touch responsibilities
  2. Cobi provides reliable and consistent floor cleaning, even if there are unexpected absences among your front-line team.
  3. Users can use the cleaning data to improve cleaning processes and efficiency. Having a clean environment can improve the attractiveness of your business and contribute to revenue growth.

Updates are pushed automatically over the air to the Cobi 18 unit and will be automatically installed the next time Cobi 18 is powered on.

You can manage notifications through the UI screen located on Cobi 18.

The best way to avoid false detections while operating Cobi is to use a microfiber cloth and wipe/clean all sensors on the unit before operating.

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i-SYNERGY Fleet Management Portal

Current clients can access the i-Synergy portal below:

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