G
ROWING UP, OUR VISION OF
the future was filled with f ly-
ing cars and robots that did
our work for us. While the air-
borne vehicles of The Jetsons
have yet to materialize, robot
vacuums have arrived. (No,
they don’t look like George’s Rosey.)
Ranging in cost from a bit under $200
to over $1,000, these wafer-shaped,
dirt-sucking automatons come with a
wide range of features and technology,
like bump-and-go navigation, LiDAR
(Light Detection and Ranging) f loor-
plan mapping, and even mopping. We
tested a range of popular models to see
how well they work and which ones do
so best. You’ll likely need to keep your
current vacuum, but a robot vacuum
can absolutely cut down on time spent
cleaning and make life easier.The
Smartest
Robot
Vacuums for
Any Home
Our team of test editors has researched, evalu-
ated, and tested these four robot vacuums. We
set up three separate 8 x 8-foot concrete areas
and covered one with a low/medium-pile carpet,
one with laminate, and one with smooth con-
crete but obstacles. To simulate different types and sizes of dirt
and debris, we spread five grams of flour, five grams of sawdust,
15 grams of dried rice, and 20 grams of kidney beans in each area
before setting the vacuums loose. We then emptied each modeland cleaned their filters before moving to the next area. We
observed and rated the vacuums on speed, how well they picked
up the debris, and how they dealt with obstacles.
For the one model with a pet-accident avoidance feature,
we threw down both novelty rubber poop and cut-up cigar seg-
ments. Any with mopping capabilities were tasked with cleaning
up light muddy footprints on a laminate floor. We then took the
vacuums home to see how they performed in less controlled
settings and to review app functionality.HOW WE
TESTED
Developing
our testing
process with the
Roborock S5.80 November/December 2020Home
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// B Y B R A D F O R D //PHOTOGRAPH BY TREVOR RAAB