You want to get your cleaning done while you’re out of the house or doing something else. Robot vacuums use cameras and lasers to map their way around your rooms, so they don’t miss a spot.

The iRobot s9+ is simple to operate and provides strong pick up across hard floors and carpet. Its high-end performance especially excels in picking up strands of pet hair. Roomba's self-emptying base saves you time and effort on maintenance too.

Not all robovacs can handle the Em excesso challenge posed by lots of pet hair, but one that really impressed on this front was the Dreame L40 Ultra. This bot was put through its paces in a home filled with furry, four-legged friends, and really rose to the occasion.

Or if you're hunting for something even cheaper (in the US or UK), check out our Eufy RoboVac 11S review a straightforward robovac that punches above its price tag.

And while removing dog hair on carpet wasn't as impressive, it still rated high in comparison to others that we've tested. What's more, we were impressed with its mopping results, and the self-cleaning doc was a bonus.

And based on our tests of similar Bissell models with many of the same features, I think it makes a great basic, affordable vacuum for cleaning hard floors, carpets and other surfaces.

According to some on-line reviewers, its small wheels can get caught when pulling the vacuum along, and it clocks in at over 20 pounds making carrying it upstairs difficult for some.

You're looking for a vacuum that is easier to maneuver into tight spaces and use on stairs than uprights are. The canister and motor can be placed out of the way, making it easier to carry and use. Plus, all have hoses and attachments for dusting, upholstery and crevices.

The Roborock Qrevo Edge adequately handles regular cleaning, but this robot vacuum stumbles in the one area it should shine

The Dyson 360 vis nav stands out for its unique features and powerful cleaning performance despite some limitations and its high price. It’s on the heavy side but compensates with extremely strong suction, effectively picking up pet hair and embedded dirt. Instead of a conventional side brush, it uses an extending side duct to tackle edges and corners. It also has a large brush roll that spans the full size of the vacuum for effective cleaning, and though its dustbin is relatively small, it’s equipped with a convenient one-touch ejection system for easy emptying.

We look at how well the vacuums remove large and small debris, like gritty sand and dried orzo pasta, from hard flooring, how well they clean along edges and how much suction they draw through the tools.

The mopping is also so basic as to be not really worth bothering with; the robovac just drags a wet wipe across your floor. On test it also sometimes struggled to clear thresholds of over 2cm.

There are no other X10 models in the Eufy range, so you can't choose, for example, a version without mopping or with a more basic dock. There is a more advanced option: the Eufy Omni S1 Pro which adds improved obstacle avoidance, automatic detergent dispensing, and swaps the spinning mop pads for a roller that's fed by a constant supply of fresh water. It's significantly more expensive, though.

Robot vacuums are impressive devices that will clean your floors well and — thanks to bigger batteries and better robot brains — rarely Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners get tired of doing their job.