The iRobot Roomba 980 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums remove pet hair, dust and lint off floors before they can settle. They can also avoid obstacles like furniture that is slippery and staircases.
Most robotic vacuums require maintenance, such as emptying (and occasionally rinsing) the bin and wiping cameras and sensors. They also need to be plugged in. Many come with smartphone applications to schedule, adjust settings and more.
iRobot Roomba 960
The iRobot Roomba 980 is the latest in the line of top-of-the-line best robot vacuum for mopping vacuum cleaners that are an essential part of every modern household. This model is incredibly powerful suction as well as an HEPA filter that'll help anyone concerned about allergies. It also has a large battery that can be cleaned for up to two hours, and return to its dock automatically when the bin is full.
It also has an option called smart mapping, which makes use of multiple sensors to help determine the areas in your home that need attention and then create a clean route around them. We've seen this technology in action and it does a good job of maneuvering around toys that have been left scattered on the floor or furniture legs that stick out from under the furniture. It also comes with a sensor that can snap Roomba back to reality when it begins to move away from its original location.
iRobot has also included a set of rollers underneath the Roomba which do not have bristles and are therefore more likely to resist knots than earlier models. They're also a bit taller than previous rollers and are able to fit under beds and couches with low sides, and they're designed to help this model navigate more easily on varying flooring types.
What sets the Roomba 980 apart from other models of this class however, is its inclusion of a new dirt detection feature that utilizes cameras to detect bits of embedded dirt. This is a significant improvement over the previous version which relied on an algorithm that was driven by sensors to bounce around the room and clean the area three times, at different angles.
In our tests of its performance, the Roomba 980 did well on carpets and hard flooring. Its score on low pile carpet was excellent and it also scored a high score on mid pile, too. It was successful in picking up pet hair but struggled with long and thick pet hair that was stuck together.
The Roomba 980 is still one of the most efficient robots in our list despite the slight limitations. It's also less expensive than other top-of-the-line models. It has many of the features you would expect from a top model but does not have all the fancy apps or home integration that you'll find in other top contenders.
The iRobot Roomba is easy to set up and start running right away. After you have removed the battery pull tab and yellow bin insert from undercarriage, all that you need to connect it to its Home Base docking station or an outlet on the wall, press its large "Clean" button and let it go to work. It will return to its dock when its battery runs out or it's stuffed with debris. It also has indicators at the top to indicate when the bin is full, it requires recharging or if its Wi-Fi signal has gone out.