The iRobot Roomba 980 robot vacuum and mop Automatic Vacuum cleaner robot Cleaner

Robot vacuums nab pet hair, lint, and dust from floors before it can settle. They can also avoid obstacles like stairs and other obstructions like furniture that can tip.

Most robotic vacuums require maintenance, like emptying (and occasionally, rinsing) the bin, and wiping cameras and sensors. They also require to be connected. Many come with smartphone applications to schedule, adjust settings and more.

Roomba 980 from iRobot

The iRobot Roomba 980 is the most recent in the series of top-of-the-line best robot vacuum for pet hair self emptying vacuum cleaners that are an essential part in any modern home. This model comes with a HEPA filter that can assist those who suffer from allergies. Additionally it also comes with a powerful battery that can clean for up to two hours and it automatically returns to its dock when its bin is full.

It also comes with an option called smart mapping, which makes use of multiple sensors to help suss out the areas in your home that require attention and then create a clean path around them. We've seen this technology in action and it does a great job of maneuvering around toys abandoned on the floor, or furniture legs that stick out of the ground. It also has a camera sensor that will snap the Roomba back to reality when it begins to drift from its intended location.

iRobot also added a set of rollers underneath the Roomba which do not have bristles and therefore are more likely to withstand the tangles that previous models. These rollers are also taller and can be tucked under low couches or beds. They're specifically designed to make this model more maneuverable on different kinds of floors.

What sets the Roomba 980 apart from other models of this class however, is its incorporation of the latest dirt detection feature that uses cameras to identify bits of embedded dirt. This is an improvement over the previous version that relied on the use of a sensor-driven pseudorandom cover to bounce around the room, and then clean the entire area three times at various angles.

In our tests of its performance, the Roomba 980 did well on carpets and hard flooring. Its score on the low pile carpet was excellent and it also scored a good score on mid pile too. It was successful in picking up pet hair however it struggled with the long and thick pet hair that was stuck together.

The Roomba 980 is still one of the top performing robots we've reviewed despite the minor drawbacks. It's also not as expensive as other top-of-the-line models. It's got plenty of features that we'd expect to find in a flagship model however, it doesn't come with all the fancy apps or automatic vacuum cleaner Robot smart home integration that are found in other top models.

The iRobot Roomba is simple to set up and get working immediately. After you have removed the pull tab for the battery and the yellow bin insert from its undercarriage, all you have to connect it to its Home Base docking station or an outlet on the wall, press its big "Clean" button, and let it get to work. It will return to docking station when it has run out of batteries or is full of debris. There are also indicator lights on top that show the bin is empty, when it needs to recharge, or if it loses Wi-Fi.