Why I Swapped Manual Checks for Tech: A Specialist’s Take on Pool Inspection with Beatbot

I’ll be honest—when I first heard about pool cleaning robots , I rolled my eyes. As someone who’s been in pool maintenance for over ten years, I took pride in doing inspections the “proper” way. Walking around the pool, checking pH levels by hand, diving in to look at filters and cracks—it was part of the job. A little old-school maybe, but reliable. Then last summer happened. Between scorching heatwaves, a packed schedule, and a few unexpected maintenance disasters, I gave in and tested Beatbot AquaSense 2 . I figured it could take care of the grime, great. What I didn’t expect was that it would completely shift the way I handle pool inspections.

Back in the day (which, okay, wasn’t that long ago), inspecting a pool was mostly about being vigilant and observant. You’d drag the net around, feel the floor texture with your feet, squint at strange shadows underwater, and take a stab at figuring out if that slightly darker patch meant algae or just bad lighting.

I had a mental checklist for every client. Are the return jets working? Is the skimmer basket full? Are the corners gathering gunk again? I’d carry around a weathered kit bag full of testing strips, brushes, and a thermometer that’s older than my niece.

Don’t get me wrong—I still value that hands-on approach. But it’s tiring, especially when you're juggling five to six appointments a day. And the worst part? You’re always a step behind. You catch issues when they’ve already become visible, or worse, when the client points them out before you do.

So, around August last year, I finally gave in and tried the Beatbot AquaSense 2. I wasn’t looking for a miracle—just something that could help lighten the load. I expected a decent cleaner. What I got was… something else entirely.

From the moment I dropped it into the water, it didn’t just zip around mindlessly like some of the older models I’d tried in the past. It moved with purpose, like it knew the shape of the pool better than I did. It mapped out corners, traced along the walls, and within an hour, sent me a notification on my tablet about “debris concentration patterns.” I didn’t even know that was a thing.

At first, I chuckled. “Yeah, right,” I thought. But when I checked the spots it flagged—sure enough—there was a thin layer of silt building up. The kind of thing you’d miss unless you were really looking. That moment kind of blew my mind.

Once I started trusting it more, I let it do a few rounds on its own. It wasn’t just cleaning anymore—it was scouting. It picked up on temperature variations, flow inconsistencies, and even subtle terrain shifts. Like that one time it kept slowing down near the deep end. I checked, and there was a barely-noticeable leak coming from a loose fitting near the underwater light housing. That could’ve become a major problem if left for another month.

In another case, it reported unusual sediment buildup in the shallow end. I inspected and found out the deck jets were slightly misaligned—something I probably wouldn’t have caught until the staining started.

These aren’t just flukes. The more I used Beatbot, the more I realized it was helping me stay ahead of problems. I wasn’t reacting anymore—I was preventing. And that’s a huge shift, especially when you’re responsible for commercial pools with tight health and safety regulations.

One thing I’ll give Beatbot credit for is how it adapts. It doesn’t treat every pool the same way. I service everything from rectangular lap pools to freeform lagoon-style ones with rocks and ledges, and it handled each of them with increasing confidence.

By the third or fourth session, it had already optimized its path. No wasted motion. It remembered where debris tends to gather, adjusted its cleaning route, and even navigated tricky slopes without getting stuck. There’s something oddly satisfying about seeing it glide smoothly along a pool floor while you sip coffee on the steps.

Let me shift gears here for a second. If you’re a pool owner who doesn’t have time for constant upkeep—or someone like my clients who just want their pool looking spotless without having to constantly chase leaves with a net—Beatbot is a solid investment.

I’ve had clients who were skeptical, too. One family with a big backyard pool always had issues with cloudy water during the hotter months. After a few weeks with Beatbot, not only was the pool consistently clean, but the alerts about water circulation helped us catch a slow pump failure early on. That saved them from replacing the whole unit.

They were so impressed they started calling Beatbot “the pool whisperer.” Not even joking.

If you’re in the industry like me, this isn’t about robots replacing jobs. It’s about evolving the role. Think of Beatbot  as your underwater assistant—someone who handles the routine stuff while you focus on diagnostics and client experience.

And let’s be real: walking into a client’s backyard with a high-tech robot in tow makes a solid impression. It shows you’re using modern tools to provide better service. That builds trust. And when the robot helps you catch a clogged return or inefficient water flow before it becomes a problem, you come off looking like a genius.

I’ve even started using the data logs in my inspection reports. Clients love it. They can see what the robot saw, and they feel more informed. It’s transparency with a tech twist.

And what began as a tool that enabled me to shave off time has become a routine game changer. Beatbot AquaSense 2 doesn’t just clean but instead it inspects, analyses, learns and alerts. It’s as if there is a silent partner who is always underwater, always keeping eyes open and never missing a detail.I still do my walk-throughs. 

I still bring my test kits. But these days, I do it with a whole lot more confidence—because I know Beatbot has already done a lap or two and flagged anything that looked off.

For anyone who’s been on the fence about it — whether you’re a pool tech, a homeowner or just someone who doesn’t want to swim, so much as skim at your own leisure — try it. You won’t believe how much smarter your pool care can be.

And hey, maybe you’ll start naming yours too.

About the author