What Should We Consider When Choosing a Robot Vacuum?

Robot vacuum cleaner have come a long way. You no longer have to suffer the indignity of dragging around an unwieldy plastic hose connected to a clumsy, wheeled canister the size of a Galapagos tortoise. In fact, you don't even need to get off of the couch. Though it still feels like a relatively new product category, there are several good robot vacuums available to help you dispose of dust, pet hair, and other debris in your home—without needing to lift a finger. Which is the right one for you? We've rounded up our highest-rated robot vacuums, and provided a few pointers to help you find just the bot you're looking for.

What to spend

Robot vacuum cleaners range from the very simple ones that will adopt a trial-and-error approach to finding their way around your floors, to high-end robots with Nasa-inspired navigation and remote control. There are many cheapest models set you back around $200-$350, but the best choice we suggest is that buying a fancier ones, like Neabot Nomo hands-free robot vacuum, the price is a bit more expensive, but the performance is excellent. You can know more about Neabot at GadgetPlus.

In addition to the price, Which features should we consider when choosing a robot vacuum cleaner?

Sensor technology

Most robot vacuums use some sort of smart sensor technology to help them negotiate their way around your home. For example, some have three sensors and a digital camera to stop itself from falling down stairs or colliding with furniture. 

The most basic robots use infrared sensors to avoid falling off edges, and simply change direction when they bump against an obstacle, rather than actively mapping their environment, while more sophisticated systems will use laser-guided scanners, or a combination of cameras, sensors and 'virtual walls' to map out their cleaning environment, as well as dirt sensors to make sure they've done a thorough clean.

Remote control

Some robots include remote controls so that you can direct the vacuum from the comfort of your sofa, while others – such as the Neato BotVac – can be controlled via an app on your phone. You can manually schedule most robot vacuums to clean at a set time, but if you want the flexibility of remote control, look for a model with smart functionality for the ultimate in automated home cleaning. 

Battery life

Most robot vacs come with a docking station that they will automatically return to when they need recharging, but some cheaper models need to be plugged in – which could mean you come home to a half-cleaned living room. Make sure you also check how long the robot takes to recharge before you can send it off on another mission, as we've found that this can vary between models.

Brush type

The brushes on your robot vac will determine how well it cleans and whether it can reach any tight spots. The has a brush bar with beaters to lift dirt to the surface and suck it up, while recent models from Samsung and iRobot have included full-width turbo brush bars, which can mean better floor coverage. Sweeper brushes – spindly little brushes that rotate on the edge of the vac – may look futile, but can be handy for directing dirt into the path of the vacuum.

Cleaning modes

Generally speaking, the more you spend, the more choice of cleaning modes you'll get. For example, the has everything from auto mode, where you can programme it to automatically move around a space once or until it runs out of battery, to spot clean, where it will focus on a particular area of your choice.

Dust capacity

Don’t be blinded by all the fancy features, as you still need a vacuum cleaner that has a decent dust capacity. Robot vacuums hold much less grime than a standard vacuum, so look for a bigger capacity if you don't want to be emptying the canister too frequently.

If you want to leave most of the floor cleaning to your robot vacuum, Neabot is a great choice!