An original roomba model robotic vacuum is in the collection of the National Museum of American History, which they note as the first successful domestic robot. The robot vacuum is described as being able to change direction when it encounters an obstacle or infrared beam, and is powered by a battery. All models have a patented design using pair of brushes or rollers, rotating shark cordless in opposite directions, to pick up debris from the floor. In some models, the brushes are followed by a squeegee vacuum, which directs the airflow through a narrow slit to increase its speed in order to collect fine dust. A horizontally mounted “side spinner” brush on the right side of the unit sweeps against walls to reach debris not accessible by the main brushes and vacuum.
The iRobot Roomba 880 is a powerful upgrade over the Roomba 790, but even though it sucks more it’s basically the same robotic vacuum. Robot vacuums are complex machines with more moving parts, electronics and software than ordinary vacuums. Still, with regular maintenance and replacement parts such as batteries, brushes and filters, these devices can last just as long as traditional vacuums. Establish how much have to spend on a robot vacuum since they are available in a wide range of prices. One area where Anker cut down on costs is the RoboVac’s navigation system. The machine bumps around the floor like a slow-motion ping-pong ball, changing direction when it encounters an object or obstacle.
Roborock does a decent job of keeping spare parts like filters and spare brushes in stock for its recent-model robots, which is an improvement over the company’s spotty stock status in past years. Even if you can find something like a spare transmission or wheel, it’s not so easy to just swap it in using a regular screwdriver, as it is with Roomba devices. But we’re happy to report that Roborock seems to be establishing a decent reputation for product quality and support. A possible side effect of the Roomba i3 EVO’s design is that it may be relatively slow compared with other smart-mapping bots, such as our also-great pick, the Roborock Q5. Whereas those other bots use lasers or cameras to help them map and clean areas, the i3 EVO still utilizes gyroscopes and sensors to help it navigate. Laser-nav bots can learn your home’s layout in a single session, whereas the i3 EVO and higher-end Roomba models typically need two or three sessions of training.
It’s a nimble navigator that rarely gets stuck, though it works best when it has to clean only a few rooms at a time. The owner’s manual for each device clearly outlines how to perform regular maintenance like cleaning cameras and emptying dustbins. Via the app, Roombas also will inform users when and how to perform other maintenance such as removing, cleaning, or replacing rollers or brushes.
The Shark AI Robot VacMop did not avoid any obstacles, nor did it even acknowledge in the app that it encountered any. The Trifo Max worked fine in our tests, nothing impressive or obviously bad. Owner reviews suggest it gets lost pretty easily, isn’t built to last, and has poor customer service. We haven’t tested Trifo’s other models, but we would expect similar results.
The Roomba 675 is iRobot’s least expensive robot vacuum with Wi-Fi connectivity, giving you app control, scheduling, and voice support in addition to excellent cleaning capabilities. Like its more expensive sibling the Roomba S9 Plus, the J7 Plus can empty its own dustbin. The robot’s CleanBase docking station both charges it and vacuums it free of debris automatically.
The Roomba 694, on the other hand, was easy for us to strip down and then reassemble with just a screwdriver. In one test, the basic Eufy RoboVac 11S spent an hour picking up enough debris to fill the palm of our hand. Next we ran the Neato Botvac D7 (usually $700 when it was a current model), and it picked up only enough hair to coat the filter and a bit of dust. Then we ran the iRobot Roomba s9+ (usually $1,100), and it came back with barely anything in the bin. The Roomba 694, like most affordable robots, is what we call a bump-and-run navigator.
The bots might even (semi-randomly) miss a patch of floor or even an entire room in any given session. But if you run the bot at least a few days per week, your floors should stay pretty tidy. And again, we’ve found over and over again that such bots work well in smaller spaces. Tons of engineering choices affect the way robot vacuums handle obstacles. The Electrolux Pure i9 is an oddity that we want to love but can’t recommend. You can connect the Roomba i3 EVO to your Wi-Fi so that you can use a smartphone app to tell it to start or stop, instruct it to return to its dock, or create a cleaning schedule, if you’d like, though doing so is totally optional.
In the first generation, the dirty air passes through the fan before reaching the filter, while later models use a fan-bypass vacuum. Because they are smaller and less powerful than large upright vacuums, the dustbin must be emptied frequently , and hair and other obstructions must be removed from rollers and brushes more frequently. One of the best innovations in the robot vacuum space in recent years has been the development of models that can empty their own dustbins. Beyond offering greater convenience than traditional models, they significantly limit your exposure to dust, a big plus if you suffer from allergies. As recently as a couple of years ago, it was difficult to find a sub-$1,000 self-emptying robot vacuum, but the price of these models has been decreasing.
The smart navigation system learns the layout of a home, coordinates no-go zones, and builds smart maps so users can create and automate their cleaning schedule. Programming preferences can be done through the iRobot Home app and through voice prompts with Alexa or Google Assistant. We could see a map generated almost immediately, even after just a 5-minute test run. Most second- and third-generation irobot vacuum cleaner models and all newer ones have internal acoustic-based dirt sensors that allow them to detect particularly dirty spots and focus on those areas accordingly. Fourth-generation and newer models have an optical sensor located in front of the vacuum bin, allowing detection of wider and smaller messes. Generally speaking, all the vacuums on this list can handle hardwood floors and pet hair without issue.