I throw in Cheerios or popcorn to see if they know to vacuum that up rather than avoid it. I also run them over oatmeal and flour to see how well they pick up fine debris and have them tackle both thick and low-pile carpets. I watch to see how they handle rug tassels, skinny chair legs, and room transitions.

Its sleek design fits under furniture, tackling hard floors, pet hair, and carpets. Schedule cleaning sessions and enjoy a spotless home every day. The water tank and dustbin ensure thorough mopping and vacuuming. Self-charging feature guarantees it’s always ready for action.

If you’re looking for a robot vacuum on a budget that still offers robust cleaning power and smart connectivity features, the Lefant M210 is ideal for routine dust and pet hair control.

Some still use that method, but our favorite robot vacuums use smart mapping features to make a map of your home before the first cleaning so they can clean more methodically. Mapping also allows them to avoid running into permanent obstacles, such as couches or door frames. Your robot vacuum will likely learn your space a little better each time it cleans your home. too. You can also direct the robot vacuum from your smartphone to only vacuum your kitchen or bedroom, if you need it to do a quick clean before guests come over or after a messy meal. Most of our picks have smart mapping, including our best overall pick (the one exception is our best value pick).   Can Robot Vacuums Clean Around Clutter? One of the biggest pain points of using a robot vacuum is pre-cleaning your floor before running your device. The latest technology allows for object avoidance, so they require less work on your part. If your vacuum has this feature, it will have a camera on the front that can identify objects, like a sock or a pack of crayons on the floor, and coach the vacuum to go around it. Obstacle avoidance is an especially great feature for pet owners, especially if their pets like to nap in a common, yet unpredictable area or are accident-prone. We love it because it keeps the robot from getting plugged up with socks or running over other objects and possibly making a bigger mess. This feature is a work in progress for many Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners robot vacuums and will likely get better (and more precise) in the years to come. It's currently offered on four of our picks, but we've found performance will vary from model to model and object to object.

avoid them, so it's not so much of a tech concern; but those parts of the floor will be missed. Running it during nap time was an easy solution, though, especially since this robot vacuum is pleasantly quiet.

The X40 also features an extending side brush arm to reach corners — like the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra — and its dual oscillating mop pads are more effective than Roborock’s thin microfiber pad.

In fact, the Freo X Ultra is one of the quietest bots I’ve tested. Even at full power, it was so quiet that I had to check that it was working. Its anti-tangle brush and oito,200Pa suction did a good job on most carpet, but its 12mm mop lifting isn’t good for plush carpets.

We'll dig into the app and gauge how well-designed, usable and intuitive it is, and how much control it offers. We'll also test any specific performance claims made by the manufacturer, as well as checking out any special features like built-in voice assistants and camera surveillance.

It’s hard to find a robot vac that doesn’t have some form of mopping, but not all mops are created equal. I looked for mopping bots that could get up dried-on stains, like milk and ketchup, and scrub up small wet spills without messing themselves up.

The specs stood up on testing too; this robovac's vacuuming powers are some of the very best we've come across. Our tester also found it could tackle the edges of rooms remarkably well, and its mopping is excellent too.

Great at vacuuming, and good at mopping although can sometimes spread wet spillages. Long battery life and fast charging.

CLEAN FLOORS EVERYDAY - Provides a system of cleaning features and smart sensors that allow the robot to adjust to your unique home and deliver a daily clean.

To assess object avoidance, we lay out a charge cable, a sock that's a similar color to the floor, and some fake pet poop, to see if it can reliably spot and avoid them.

The system is specifically engineered for pet households, reducing manual efforts spent on clearing hair from brushes and rollers.