The iRobot Roomba 980 Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums remove pet hair, lint and dust from the floor before they can settle. They also can avoid stairs and other obstacles such as furniture that is tippy.

The majority of robotic vacuums require maintenance, such as emptying (and occasionally, rinsing) the bin, nearest and wiping cameras and sensors. Additionally, they must be connected to an electrical source. A lot of them have apps for smartphones for scheduling, setting and more.

Roomba 980 from iRobot

The iRobot Roomba 980, the most recent of a series of top-of the-line best robot vacuum for high pile carpet vacuums, is a must for every modern home. This model has seriously strong suction and a HEPA filter that can help anyone concerned about allergies. It also has an extremely powerful battery that can be cleaned for up to two hours, and return to its dock automatically when the bin is full.

It also comes with an option called smart mapping that uses multiple sensors to help it identify the areas of your home that require attention and create a cleaning route around them. We've seen this technology in action and it does a great job of moving around toys abandoned on the floor or furniture legs that are sticking out from under things. It also has a sensor that will snap Roomba back to reality when it starts to drift away from its original location.

iRobot has also introduced a new set of rollers under the bottom of the Roomba that do not have bristles, and thus tend to resist tangles better than the previous models. They're also a bit taller than older rollers, and will fit better under low couches and beds, and they're designed to allow this model to move more easily across a variety of flooring types.

What makes the Roomba 980 stand out from other models of this class, though, is its incorporation of the latest dirt detection feature, which uses cameras to detect particles of dirt embedded. This is a significant improvement over the previous model which relied on an algorithm that was driven by sensors to bounce around the room and scrub everything three times at different angles.

The Roomba 980 performed well in our tests on both carpets and hard floors. Its score on low pile carpet was excellent and Nearest it scored a high score on mid pile too. It did a good job getting rid of 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 these minor limitations. It's also not as expensive as top-of-the-line models. It comes with many of the features we would expect from a flagship model but does not have all the fancy apps and smart home integration that you'll see in other top models.

The iRobot Roomba is simple to set up and start running right away. After removing the pull tab for the battery and yellow bin insert from the undercarriage, all you have to do is plug it into 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 is out or it's full of debris. It also has indicators on the top for when its bin is full or it requires recharging or if its Wi-Fi signal is lost.