iRobot Roomba Archives - Little Robot Shop

Despite being advertised as fully-automated, the reality is that most robotic vacuum cleaners require some form of input from you and this isn’t just for scheduling and dishing out instructions. You will find yourself involved in the cleaning process more often than you may like, manually carrying the robot to empty the trash can and cleaning out the sweeping brushes. But with the influx of robotic vacuum cleaners with the ability to automatically dispose of the collected dirt, all these little inconveniences are about to end, and here we reviewed the 6 best self emptying robot vacuums. These robot vacuums come very close to fully automating the floor vacuuming process and completely takes away the inconvenience of having to manually empty the bin midway into a cleaning cycle. How Do Self Emptying Robot Vacuums Work? Robot vacuum cleaners are gradually becoming an indispensable part of our daily lives and so is the need to make them better, more reliable and independent. This has led some of the best brands in the industry to find ingenious ways of making robot vacuum cleaners able to completely automate vacuuming with no help whatsoever from us. And now we have self-emptying robots that automatically empty their own trash can and continue with the cleaning cycle. Since it was introduced by iRobot a few years ago, automatic dirt disposal in robotic vacuum cleaners is gradually catching on with more robots coming out with this exotic feature and the mechanism is quite simple. The robot drives back to the charging dock which also acts as a Clean Base with a vacuum that attaches to the robot and sucks up the collected dirt from the trash can in the robot. The process is designed to take place efficiently so no debris particles get into the air. With this, the robot can clean indefinitely without you worrying about emptying the trash can but you do have to empty the Clean Base at least once a month which isn’t much work. Self-emptying robot vacuums come with a self-emptying base (or clean base) which usually doubles as a charging dock, but unlike normal charging docks they are bulkier and take up more space, this isn’t a deal breaker because the convenience that comes with it more than makes up for the extra space. The Best Self-emptying Robot Vacuum Cleaners iRobot Roomba i3+ (3550)iRobot Roomba i7+ (7550)iRobot Roomba S9+ (9550)Shark IQ R101AE Robotic VacuumProscenic M7 Pro LDS Robot Vacuum CleanerNeabot Robot Vacuum With Self-Emptying DustbinHoniture Q6 Mapping Robot Vacuum with XL Self-Empty Base The first three self emptying robot vacuums I want to introduce you to are all from the market leader iRobot. Their Roomba brand is synonymous with robotic vacuum cleaners. 1. iRobot Roomba i3+ (3550) Roomba i3+ is a mid-range robot vacuum designed to fully automate the process of vacuuming floors. It comes with a pair of tangle-resistant rubber brushes and a specially designed edge-sweeping brush for sweeping up dirt particles from different floor types and along corners and edges. The Roomba i3+ is equipped with intelligent navigation tracking sensors for smartly moving around in the home and a Reactive Sensor Technology helps it avoid obstacles while sweeping up debris. A suite of intelligent tracking sensors enables the robot to move in overlapping straight line patterns and this enables it to clean out every part of a room, and a HEPA filter sucks up 99% of pollen, dust mites and allergens from the air. This robot also features the iRobot’s Dirt Detect technology to identify high-traffic areas in the home with a build-up of dirt, and subsequently increase its cleaning power to deliver extra cleaning. The i3 will smoothly transition from hard floors to carpeted floors while cleaning, this transition comes with an increase in suction force to make sure it picks up all debris from both low-pile and thick-pile carpets. The Roomba i3 is controlled with the newly updated iRobot Genius Home Intelligence app which allows you to personalize your experience and schedule cleaning times for your robot, it’s also compatible with voice commands including Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Intelligent navigationGreat cleaning performanceRedesigned mobile app12-months Warranty Loud motorCan get stuck in certain areasOnly compatible with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 2. iRobot Roomba i7+ (7550) An excellent robot vacuum cleaner for large multistory homes with pets and different floors. The i7 uses the classic Roomba 3-stage cleaning and 10x the power-lifting suction to pull in stubborn dirt & messes. It sports unique dual multi-surface rubber brushes that do not get tangled with pet hair, making it great for homes with pets that shed lots of hair. A suction force of 1700Pa sucks up all debris into a 0.5L dirt bin, and a HEPA filter traps up 99% of cat & dog allergens, leaving the air in your home as neat as your floors. The robot is guided by smart sensors, the premium vSLAM navigation and Imprint Smart Mapping technology. It learns the layout of your home and creates smart maps, enabling it to expertly clean & navigate in neat, efficient rows; the i7+ can tell your kitchen from the living room and various bedrooms. The smart maps are stored and allows you to further customize your cleaning schedules, you can instruct the robot to clean only a small section of your home using voice control over the wi fi connectivity. The i7+ is compatible with the iRobot Home app which has a plethora of smart functionalities for an even better cleaning experience, such as personalized cleaning schedules and customizable keep-out zones. You can find out more about this model in our Roomba i7 review and how it shapes up against the top of the line Roomba S9 in this comparison post. Excellent navigationGreat cleaning performanceGreat for multi-story homesEasy-to-use app12-months Warranty Clean Base is very loudCan get stuck 3. iRobot Roomba S9+ (9550) If you don’t mind spending some big bucks to keep your floors tidy, then consider getting the most advanced Roomba yet. iRobot S9+ is currently the most sophisticated robot for iRobot, it has the smartest features with groundbreaking technology and among the best robot vacuums they offer. It’s a robot vacuum built for completely automating vacuum cleaning in large multi story homes. The Roomba S9+ combines the classic Roomba 3-stage cleaning with 40X suction force and carpet boost technology to tackle vacuuming in homes. It features a PerfectEdge Technology with advanced sensors, a specially designed corner brush and an inventive D-shape design (similar to the Neato Botvac series) for optimizing edge cleaning, coupled with 30% wider dual rubber tangle-free brushes this robot delivers deep cleaning all round the home. The iRobot Roomba S9+ also sports the vSLAM laser navigation technology for intelligent navigation around the home and Imprint Smart Mapping for creating digital maps which enables it expertly identify every room and section of your home. Guided by smart sensors, the Roomba S9+ will clean in neat and efficient rows, sweeping up even the tiniest particles on its way, this ensures a detailed powerful clean. This robot comes with the iRobot Clean Base for automatic dirt disposal and an anti-allergen system for keeping tiny dust particles trapped. With Alexa and Google assistant, you can tell your robot when and where to clean, the iRobot Home app gives you the luxury of setting cleaning schedules and fully customizing your smart home cleaning via wi fi. In the iRobot Roomba S9+, convenient meets efficient. Excellent navigation Excellent cleaningVery intuitive controlsGreat for multi-story homes12-months Warranty Very priceyLoud clean base Side-by-side: Roomba i3+ vs i7+ vs s9+ These 3 robot vacuums are actually of different grades with only a number of features in common. Of the 3, the Roomba S9+ is the best robot vacuum with the most sophisticated features, it’s a Roomba for fast and efficient cleaning of multi-story homes with rambunctious pets and any type of floor including low-pile and thick-pile carpets. Closely following the S9+ is the Roomba i7+, which is also a great robot for large multi-story homes and pet hair. It functions much the same way as the S9+ and was the very first Roomba with the automatic dirt disposal capability. These two robot vacuums are both premium gadgets which are reflected in their prices, they both come with the iRobot Imprint Smart Mapping for retaining a photographic memory of your home and learning the floor plans of every room. This is an interesting feature, because you can instruct either of these robots to “go clean under the kitchen table” (via Alexa voice control) and see it done. The i3+ is equally a smart machine, but not nearly as smart as i7+ or S9+, it does pretty well with floor vacuuming and empties its own trash can. But as a mid-range robot, It doesn’t have the Imprint Smart Mapping, however this isn’t a deal breaker because the i3+ is an impressive gadget for smaller homes and it has a more budget-friendly price tag. If you have a large home and don’t mind splurging on an expensive robot to keep your floor tidy get the S9+, it’s an investment you will absolutely enjoy. But if you want something a little less expensive, the i7+ is under $800 and it’s equally amazing. 4. Shark IQ R101AE Robotic Vacuum Shark IQ is another robot vacuum that empties itself, it's designed to perfectly automate the act of floor sweeping and vacuuming. With a tonne of premium features, this robot ensures you don’t actively get involved in vacuuming for a t least a month. It comes equipped with a total home mapping system which scans the various rooms in a house, creates and stores a digital map giving you the luxury to schedule cleaning times for different rooms as you desire. The Shark IQ uses a special self-cleaning brush roll to sweep debris off your floor and removes both short and long hair strands without getting tangled. The IQ cleans meticulously, sweeping in rows from edge-to-edge and carefully picking up dirt particles of varied sizes and pet hair. A powerful suction force provides deep cleaning to ensure every dirt particle, from large to tiny, is efficiently sucked into an XL-capacity dirt bin. This robot comes with a bagless, self-emptying base which is capable of holding dirt and debris for up to 30 days and it automatically empties the dirt bin, with this you will have no worries about vacuuming for at least a month. The IQ also features a premium multi-stage HEPA filtration system enabling the robot to effectively capture airborne debris and pet allergen down to 1 micron which is perfect for homes with pets. You can control the IQ either via the intuitive SharkClean mobile app or with your voice, it’s compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Good cleaning performanceExcellent self-cleaning brush rollBot Boundary StripsBudget-friendly Poor edge cleaningVery loud motorEasily gets confused 5. Proscenic M7 Pro LDS Robot Vacuum Cleaner This is a powerful sweeping machine with a wide range of exotic features carefully packaged in a simple budget-friendly robot. Proscenic M7 Pro is equipped with an Advanced Laser Technology for navigating through your smart home and smartly avoiding your furniture and other obstacles around. A suit of 24 sensors enables the robot to create a real-time map of any room it’s in and then follow the most efficient cleaning route. With a real-time map, the M7 immediately determines any changes in the position of the items in the room, identifies new introductions and “knows” how best to navigate through the space, it can easily handle complex environments thanks to this technology. The M7 is built to tackle both hard floors and carpets, it easily transitions between hardwood floor and carpets and automatically boosts its suction to the maximum when it detects a carpet. It’s powered by a Nidec brushless motor and sports a strong suction force of 2700Pa with which it effortlessly picks up dog hair and both large dirt particles and fine debris. It has an extra-large 5200mAh Lithium-Ion battery with a total runtime of 150 minutes, enough to clean a large room of up to 300m2. This robot is controlled via the ProscenicHome app, from the app you can switch between different cleaning modes, schedule cleaning times, create virtual off-limit zones, set specific rooms or zones to clean, etc. There is so much you can do with the app, it allows you to personalize your cleaning and get the best out of the robot. It also has an intelligent dirt collector for automatic dirt disposal but this self-cleaning base is sold separately. Great navigation and cleaningVery intuitive appVery affordableExcellent battery life; 150 minutes App can be unreliableMopping feature is a hit-and-miss 6. Neabot Robot Vacuum With Self-Emptying Dustbin Neabot is a simple robot vacuum with quite a number of impressive features for completely automating floor vacuuming. It moves in a z-shaped vacuuming pattern to ensure that every inch of the floor is covered. This robot sports the Lidar Navigation and SLAM technology for accurately identifying objects in the home and obstacles in its path so it never gets trapped. It uses dual multi-surface rubber brushes to sweep up dust, dirt, pet hair & large debris, and has a high-efficiency filter for trapping up to 99% of mold, pollen & dust mite allergens. The Neabot is ideal for homes with pets and a mix of hardwood floors and medium to low pile carpet. Neabot has 3 levels of suction power for absolutely tackling any floor type; it uses 700Pa for cleaning hard floors and small cleaning, 1200Pa for regular cleaning and 2700a for tackling medium pile carpets and throw rugs. When it encounters a carpet, it automatically increases the suction power for deep and thorough cleaning. The robot is shipped with auto-sealed debris bags enough to hold dirt for up to 4 weeks and a self-clean base for automatic dirt disposal. Controlling this device is very easy as it comes with a smartphone app and compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa. Want to know more? Read our in-depth Neabot Robot Vacuum Review. Excellent navigationCleans in organized straight linesDoesn’t run out of battery life or get stranded Very quiet motor1-year warranty & 30 days no-worry return Can get stuckOnly compatible with 2.4 GHz 7. Honiture Q6 Mapping Robot Vacuum with XL Self-Empty Base If you want a smart vacuum and a smart mop in one machine, you’ve got it here. Honiture Q6 is essentially a robotic vacuum cleaner with the added features of a smart mop, it’s equipped with a suite of 29 smart precision sensors including bumper, cliff sensors and wall sensors for smartly navigating through a room and avoiding obstacles in the home. It’s designed to efficiently clean different floor types, from laminate, tiles, wood and carpets. The Q6 has a climbing ability of up to 2 cm and a carpet detect feature with auto-boost suction which automatically cranks up the suction force to a maximum of 2700Pa to deliver deep cleaning even on thick-pile carpets; it has 3 levels of suction power (1200Pa, 2000Pa and 2700Pa). It sports a roller brush for sweeping up dirt particles and pet hair on its path and 2 side brushes for delivering excellent edge cleaning. The mop features include a 115ml water tank and reusable mop pads, the mopping function can be set to start mopping immediately vacuuming is over. The Q6 comes with a 5200mAh Li-ion battery which runs for about 180 minutes on a charge. This robot comes with a 400ml trash can and an XL self-empty base and has the ability to automatically empty the bin. The Q6 is controlled either via the Honiture app or Alexa or Google Assistant, and you can schedule cleaning times or target specific rooms or certain areas in the home. Good floor cleaningXL Self-Empty Base18-month WarrantyBudget-friendly It’s a little too noisyCan get stuck Key points for consideration before buying? Intelligent Navigation Navigation can be the singular most important feature in robotic vacuum cleaners. To clean effectively, a robot has to be able to properly find its way around the house in the most effective and efficient way possible. These gadgets use either lasers or a top-mounted camera to “see” and navigate smoothly. However, robot vacuums with the best navigation systems use both laser sensors and top-mounted cameras to scan and map their environment before proceeding to methodically clean in overlapping straight line patterns, while efficiently identifying and avoiding objects on their path. Battery Life If you’ve ever watched robot vacuums clean, then you will have noticed how slow they can be. They are not nearly as fast as manual vacuuming, so it only makes sense that a great robot vacuum cleaner should have a decent battery with a runtime of not less than 90 minutes, this way they can cover a reasonable section of the floors before needing a recharge. Most robot vacuums come with the auto-recharge and resume feature, so they can automatically break a cleaning cycle to charge their batteries before returning to complete the cleaning. Suction Force Efficient and tangle-free brush rolls are undoubtedly very useful in robot vacs, but what gives these gadgets the ability to capture all sorts of debris from a variety of surface types is a super-powerful suction force. For a robot vacuum to effectively pick up debris from carpet, it needs a suction force of no less than 1500Pa, and the higher the better. The best robots should have the carpet detect feature, good climbing ability and an automatic suction boost to deliver the required cleaning power on different surface types. Thankfully, all the robot vacuums on this list have sufficient suction for different floor types and pet hair. Brush Rolls And HEPA Filters Pets are lovely companions and some of us cannot imagine a life with our cute furry friends. But it can be tough when they track hair strands everywhere and you are faced with always cleaning up after them. That’s exactly why your ideal robot vacuum should have excellent self-cleaning brush rolls that don’t get all tangled up in pet hairs, and HEPA-filters for filtering off pet allergens and dust mites from air. Keep Out Zones Chances are, there are certain sections in your home with piles of cables or toys and you’ll like to keep your robot vacuums away from such areas to avoid getting stuck. This is where virtual no-go or keep-out zones come in. Some robots also come with boundary marker strips for creating walls that keep robots out of places you want them to avoid, especially if you schedule it to clean when you’re away from home. FAQs The best self emptying robot vacuums: final thoughts The convenience that comes with owning a self-emptying robotic vacuum cleaner is second to none and every penny invested in a reliable gadget that completely takes care of cleaning your floors while you attend to more important matters is totally worth it. The best bang for your bucks has to be the Proscenic M7, at less than $400 you get a super-smart gadget that not only vacuums your floors but also empties its own trash can. However, the Roomba S9+ is the ultimate best self-emptying robot with the most advanced features and perfect for multi-story homes with pets and a variety of floor types plus it comes at a relatively steep price, but if you can afford it, go for it.

iRobot Roomba

7 Of The Best Self Emptying Robot Vacuums

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