Robot vacuums nab pet hair, lint and dust off floors before they can settle. They can also stay clear of stairs and other obstacles like furniture that can tip.
The majority of robotic vacuums require maintenance. This involves emptying the bin (and sometimes, rinsing it) and cleaning the cameras and sensors. They also need to be connected. Many come with smartphone apps to schedule, adjust settings, and more.
Roomba 980 from iRobot
The iRobot Roomba 980, the latest in a series of top-of the-line robot vacuums, is a staple for every modern home. This model is extremely powerful suction and it comes with a HEPA filter that'll help anyone concerned about allergies. On top of that it also comes with a powerful battery that can clean for up to two hours, and it will return to its dock when its bin is full.
It also has an option called smart mapping, which makes use of multiple sensors to help identify the areas of your home that need attention and create a cleaning path around them. We've seen this technology in action and it does a good job of moving around toys that are abandoned on the floor or furniture legs that stick out of the ground. It also has a camera sensor that can snap the Roomba back to the real world when it begins to drift from its intended location.
iRobot has also included an additional set of rollers beneath the Roomba which do not have bristles and therefore are more likely to resist the tangles that previous models. The rollers are also larger and can be tucked under low couches or beds. They're designed to make this model more adaptable to different flooring types.
What sets the Roomba 980 apart from other high-end models, though, is its incorporation of the latest dirt detection feature, which uses a camera to spot bits of embedded dirt. This is a nice improvement over the previous version which relied on the sensor-driven pseudorandom coverage technique to bounce around the room and clean it at minimum three times from various angles.
In our tests of its performance it was found that the Roomba 980 did well on both hard flooring and carpets. best robot vacuums 2022 on the low pile carpet was impressive, and it also scored a good score on mid pile too. It did a decent job of removing pet hair, but it had a difficult time with very long and thick pet fur that was stuck together.
The Roomba 980 is still one of the top performing robots in our list despite the minor drawbacks. It's also less expensive than other top-of the-line models. It has a lot of features you would expect from a flagship model, but doesn't come with all the fancy apps or smart home integration that you'll see in other top contenders.
The iRobot Roomba is easy to set up and start working immediately. After taking off the yellow bin insert and the battery pull tab from its undercarriage you simply plug it into a wall socket or its Home Base docking stations, click the "Clean button" and let it job. It will return to its dock when its battery is out or it's full of debris. It also has indicator lights on the top for when its bin is full or it requires recharging or if its Wi-Fi signal is lost.
