Basically, it bloops around semi-randomly until its battery runs low, and then it tries to get back to its dock before it completely runs out of juice (and doesn’t always succeed). And even though it navigates with absolutely reckless abandon, we’ve found that it’s actually a lot less likely to get stuck on random hazards around the house than other bots, as it has several specific “escape” routines for common traps. In one, we run the bot in a room with several chairs, stray USB cables, a sock, and a medium-pile area rug. Next, we pour about an eighth of a cup of all-purpose flour across an area rug and bare floor (including some against a baseboard) and let the bot try to suck it up for a couple of minutes.
It also has smart mapping, so you can tell it to clean or avoid specific rooms. However, many others choose to keep a regular vacuum on hand to clean up messes that the robot vacuum simply can’t reach. “Upright vacuum cleaners are still important to clean hard-to-reach areas,” says Johnson, who says that a robot model can’t fully replace your traditional vacuum. “WiFi connected robot vacuums can also provide maintenance tips and reminders via the companion app, even offering bissell crosswave cordless health status updates on various components, such as filters and roller brushes,” Hild says. “Even though I own a Dyson Animal V8, I hardly ever use it now because the Yeedi has become my primary vacuum cleaner,” our long-term tester said. “I run the robot vacuum twice each day during the week, and on the weekends, I run it once per day. Now, the only time I use my Dyson is to clean the furniture my dog rests on or any nooks and crannies that the Yeedi vacuum can’t get to.”
We purchased and tested 30 robot vacuums, including multiple Roomba models, in The Lab in Des Moines, Iowa, for two days. Our testers assembled each vacuum, inserted any filters, and hooked up docking stations. As the robot vacuum was operating, we used a decibel reader to assess the noise level of each. If object avoidance was an advertised feature, we tested that by putting a USB cord, bissell crosswave cordless sock, and chocolate pudding on the floor, and then we took note of whether it successfully avoided those obstacles. Lastly, not all Roombas are self-emptying, so we rated each one on the ease of emptying the dust bin or included bag. Then, we assessed the overall value based on how well the product performed in all of the tests, in comparison with the price tag and promised features.
On that note, there is still a place in the world for cheaper robots that rely on semi-random navigation. (We like to call it bump-and-run navigation.) If you need to clean only a few rooms at a time (800 square feet is a comfortable upper limit), one of these models can get the job done. We can’t pinpoint one spec or feature that helps a robot navigate well—we just have to test the bots and see how they do. Some cheap, dead-simple bots are especially nimble, while certain high-end models struggle constantly.
“You want your robot vacuum to clean as much of your floors as possible before needing a recharge,” says Toner. In addition to battery runtime, she says you’ll also want to consider how long it takes for a robot vacuum to recharge. “It’s also handy if the vacuum has a feature that allows it to resume cleaning after recharging, so you don’t have to worry about unfinished floors,” she explains. IRobot’s advanced cleaning robots wouldn’t be the extraordinary tidying machines that they are without the comprehensive and effective debris sweeping power of both the company’s brush rollers and edge brushes.
All in all, if you’re looking for an affordable, excellent, and easy-to-use robot vacuum, the Roomba 694 is the way to go. Introduced in September 2002, the first-generation Roomba had three buttons for room size. The first-generation units comprised the original silver-colored Roomba, the blue Roomba Pro, and the maroon Roomba Pro Elite. The later two models included additional accessories, but all three used the same core bissell crosswave cordless robot and cleaning system. Roombas are driven by two independently-operating side wheels, which can drive the Roomba forwards and backwards as well as perform turns of any radius, including 360° turns in place. Rotary encoders on the wheels can detect the rate at which the wheels are spinning so it can determine if they’re slipping or stuck, and drop sensors detect if a wheel is too low (such as getting stuck in a vent).
When picking out the best robot vacuum for your needs, be sure to consider what type of floors the vacuum is designed to work on. During testing, different robot vacuums performed better on certain types of flooring. While some were great at tackling cereal spills on hard floors, they struggled to pick up hair out of carpet fibers. Others worked great at removing debris from rugs but only scooted dirt around on hardwood. While the Yeedi Vac Station robot vacuum performed well on carpets and hard floors—it picked up all of the dirt and sand but left some hairs behind—we particularly loved its mopping feature.
The big downside is that the RoboVac 11S and other bots like it don’t seem to be built to last for more than a couple of years on average, and we’ve heard about plenty of unrepairable breakdowns that happen even sooner. This tried-and-true robot vacuum is much more durable and repairable than similar bots from other brands and is better at cleaning rugs, too. 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. This is the Roomba i4 EVO packaged with a charging dock that automatically sucks all the debris out of the robot after a cleaning session. Toner says you can save money on those that don’t hook up to apps or digital assistants.
It’s one of the highest spec of robot vac we have (probably) ever seen, so it’s setting the benchmark high for future innovations in this space. It gets our vote for the best of it’s kind with AI which utilizes an RGB camera and 3D structured light to quickly learn the home, tailor cleaning strategies, and auto-generate paths according to the type of obstacle, flooring, and room. They get the surface debris, but if you have a carpeted house or lots of rugs, I’d recommend investing in a stick vac for weekly deep cleans. A brash, loud auto-emptying robot vacuum that’s long on features and short on style but comes at a real bargain. But don’t be fooled by the AI in the name — it can only avoid objects if they’re over four inches tall.