- What is mapping in a robot vacuum?
- What kind of mapping technology exists?
- Which robot vacuum is better for large homes?
- Are these robot vacuums good for carpets?
- Which robot vacuum is better for bare floors?
- Which one to choose for pet owners?
- Which one has better filtration
- Self-Emptying Charging Base
- Voice control by Alexa/Google Assistant
- What you can do with the app?
- Objects recognition: camera vs. 3D sensor
- How to prevent the robot from crossing certain places where it can get stuck
- Why buy a robot vacuum with an electronic water tank
- Is it possible to send the robot to clean a specific place or a room?
- Can I see where my robot has already been cleaned?
- Can I control the vacuum’s movements?
- Can I use the robot in my two-level house?
- Maintenance
- Quick Guide Through Every Robot Cleaner
- Quick Summary
Earlier we've talked about the 4 of the most powerful mid-range smart robot vacuum cleaners. Since it's been a while, since some manufacturers released new models that are worth to be mentioned, we decided to dive deep into the 5 best smart robot cleaners of 2022.
What is mapping in a robot vacuum?
Mapping is a feature that allows the robot to know better where it should clean making navigation more efficient. A created map allows for creating the most effective path for cleaning your house so the robot does not miss any areas when cleaning. Having a map created, the robot knows where it has already been cleaned and where it should clean.
Unlike cheaper robots that run around bumping into things until the battery dies, the ones that have mapping methodically cover a cleaning area following the created map. Another pro is the robot does not go over the same spot twice which saves battery life and makes cleaning more efficient so the robot finishes the job faster. Most of the cleaners with mapping allow seeing the created map in the app, with some you can even track it in real-time. Most of them have the following features: virtual boundaries that block the robot from certain areas, zoned cleaning, cleaning a particular room, etc.
What kind of mapping technology exists?
Usually, robot vacuums with mapping are more expensive than robot vacuums with a random cleaning pattern. Such devices use a special sensor that helps to create an accurate map. I would break all robot vacuums with mapping into the following categories:
- Lidar-based mapping. A “tower” on the top of the device rotates and scans the surrounding with an LDS (Laser Distance Sensor) and creates an accurate map of the surrounding. Robot vacuums with Lidar create the most accurate map and have the most precise navigation compared to devices with other mapping technologies.
- Camera-based mapping. A camera or ToF sensor (time-of-flight sensor) takes shots of the surroundings and creates a map of a house. This technology is pretty accurate, but it has a significant disadvantage: it doesn’t work in dark conditions.
- Gyroscope/accelerometer-based mapping. A cheaper technology that uses sensors such as a gyroscope and accelerometer to measure distance and object orientation in your house. Robot vacuums with a gyroscope usually create an inaccurate map, and navigation is not as good as a camera or Lidar-guided devices.
- Combined sensors. Some devices use a combination of two or three sensors mentioned above.
- Extra sensors for object recognition. Premium robots nowadays are equipped with extra sensors like DToF, front camera, or other types of sensors that help to recognize small objects on the floor. Those robots have the most advanced navigation.
I’ve picked up the top 5 best-featured robot vacuum cleaners with mapping ever existed on the market. Each of these models would perform well on bare flooring and carpeted surface. Choose the one that would suit you the most depending on your budget, needs, and preferences.
| Specs & Features |  Dreame Z10 Pro |
 Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra |
 Roomba j7+ |
 Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI |
 Roborock Q5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mapping technology | LDS + DToF | LDS + camera | camera | LDS laser | LDS |
| Front camera / Objects recognition & avoidance | yes | yes | yes | yes | no |
| Multimapping | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Battery life (min) | 150 | 180 | 75 | 120 | 180 |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 5,200 | 5,200 | 2,210 | 5,200 | 5,200 |
| Suction power (Pa) | 4,000 | 5,100 | N/A | 5,000 | 2,700 |
| Dustbin capacity (ml) | 400 | 400 | 400 | 500 | 470 |
| Self-empty charging base | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| HEPA filter | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Mopping feature | yes | yes | no | yes | no |
| Vibrating water tank | no | yes | - | yes | - |
| Auto mopping pads washing | no | yes | - | yes | - |
| Water tank auto refill | no | yes | - | yes | - |
| Lifting mopping pad | no | yes | - | no | - |
| App | Mi Home | Mi Home / Roborock | iRobot Home | ECOVACS HOME | Roborock |
| Amazon Alexa / Google Home support | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Recharge & Resume | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Virtual boundaries | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| No-Mop zones | yes | yes | - | yes | - |
| Electronic water tank | yes | yes | - | yes | - |
| Selected room cleaning | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Empty water tank alert | no | no | - | yes | - |
| Rising mopping attachment | no | yes | no | no | - |
| Dirt detection | no | no | yes | no | no |
| Carpet identification | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Full bin indicator | no | yes | yes | no | no |
| Scheduling | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Water tank capacity (ml) | 150 | 200 | - | 80 | - |
| Height (in / cm) | 3.8 / 9.6 | 3.78 / 9.6 | 3.62 / 9.2 | 4.06 / 10.3 | 3.8 / 9.65 |
| Climbing ability (in / mm) | 0.79 / 20 | 0.79 / 20 | 0.79 / 20 | 0.79 / 20 | 0.79 / 20 |
| Warranty | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months |
| Price | $599.99 Amazon $408.42 Aliexpress |
$859.99 Amazon | $599.0 Amazon | $1313.89 Aliexpress | $699.99 Amazon |
Which robot vacuum is better for large homes?
Each robot vacuum with mapping in our list has a recharge & resume feature, which means the robot automatically returns to the charging dock when the battery is running low. It juices up the battery and automatically resumes cleaning where it left off. But recharging may take a few hours so it is much more convenient when the device finishes the job in one cleaning cycle, so consider the battery capacity and max working time when choosing a robot vacuum for a big house.
120 minutes of battery life is enough to cover a 100-150 sq. meters area, basically, it's enough to clean a ~200 sq. meters house. If you live in a small house, any of these devices will suit your needs. It would take less time to finish the cleaning. On average, these robot vacuums clean 1 sq. meter per minute, so you can easily calculate the necessary cleaning time. Keep in mind that some space in your house is taken up by furniture, so the cleaning area will always be smaller than the actual size of your house.
One of the advantages of those robots is the self-emptying charging dock, it may be very useful for larger houses since the robot will collect more dust, and the ability to automatically empty the dustbin is very convenient in this case. The object recognition function is good too as it makes the robot navigate smarter avoiding small things on the floor.
Are these robot vacuums good for carpets?
All the robot vacuums in this list perform pretty well on carpets. Remember the robot vacuums can't clean high-pile carpets, they just can't climb on such carpets or struggle to move on. But if you have mostly low-pile carpets or middle-pile carpets, there should be no problems. Some do a bit better job than others but in general, all of them are suitable for carpets.
Some people are curious if these robot vacuums can provide the same cleaning performance as a regular vacuum cleaner or a powerful upright vacuum such as a Dyson. The truth is that robot vacuums have significantly weaker suction compared to a good upright vacuum cleaner. Are they useless then and maybe better to buy an upright vacuum cleaner? Definitely no. You can run robot vacuums daily without any effort just by pressing a button or even scheduling a robot to clean at a specific time (for example, when you are at work). You will be very surprised by how much dirt it collects even if you have manually vacuumed your floors before.
Which robot vacuum is better for bare floors?
Cleaning bare floors such as hardwood, laminate, or tile floors is an easy task for robot vacuums. Only the Roomba j7+ does not have mopping that would help make the floors cleaner.
The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra lifts the water pad on carpets which makes it the most convenient robot to use on a mixed surface. Besides, the pad also vibrates. I would say it does the job just fine. Maybe not the best compared to mopping only robots but in my opinion, the S7 MaxV Ultra is the best hybrid robot on the market. Additionally, its self-cleaning base has two large water tanks that fill up the water tank and wash the mopping pads after mopping. This adds value to the product.
The Roborock Q5+ is good for hard floors but only if you do not require mopping.
The Dreame Z10 Pro has the smallest water tank so mopping is not able to cover a big area of the hard floor without having to refill the tank.
The Ecovacs DEEBOT X1 OMNI is the newest and most advanced robot vacuum that combines a self-cleaning bin and auto-refilling water tank features. Basically, the base is able to suck up the dust and wash the mopping pad. It also refills the water tank with water so you don't have to do so manually. Compared to the Roorock, the OMNI has a smaller water tank.
I would say they all do the job mopping the floors just some of them are more convenient to use in homes with a mixed surface or in terms of not refilling/washing the pad manually.
Which one to choose for pet owners?
The Dreame Z10 Pro is no worse or better than any other on the list. It does prone to hair tangling but nothing crucial that can't be dealt with in no time.
The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra is equipped with a new rubber roller that is considered to be the best in terms of hair tangling and maintenance.
The same goes for the Roomba's patterned dual rubber rollers. Best for pet hair.
As to ECOVACS, the two have a standard roller that is similar to the one found in most robots nowadays. The robots also pick up pet hair and have issues with maintaining the rollers.
Since all of them come with a self-cleaning base, they all are good for pet owners as you don't have to deal with stuffed dustbins especially if you run the robot more than once a week.
Which one has better filtration
All of them are equipped with a HEPA filter and are safe for allergy sufferers
Self-Emptying Charging Base
The innovative charging base empties the robot’s dustbin automatically, and you don’t need to clean the bin for up to 30 days if you use the robot vacuum daily. It is becoming a standard in the premium robot segment as well as mid-range price robots.
However, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNIand Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra have a 2-in-1 self-cleaning base that additionally washes mopping pads and refills the water tank on its own.
Voice control by Alexa/Google Assistant
If you own an Amazon Echo or Google Home, you can control your robot vacuum by voice commands. All robot vacuums picked in this article support both, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. You can start and stop cleaning, and send the robot to the dock by voice command.
What you can do with the app?
One of the biggest pros of a robot vacuum with mapping is the ability to see and interact with the map of your house in an iOS/Android app. All the robot vacuums picked here have a bunch of advanced app features, let's see what you can do with each of these robots.
Objects recognition: camera vs. 3D sensor
All of them support an object recognition function. The robot can see small objects the Lidar or camera can not and avoid them on the way. The difference between a camera and a 3D sensor is that the robots with a camera might take shots of the avoided objects which you can see on the map. The 3D sensor does not leave spots on the map.
How to prevent the robot from crossing certain places where it can get stuck
There are two solutions for that: the no-go & no-mop zones.
Virtual boundaries (no-go zones)
The virtual boundaries keep the robot from going to specific places where the robot struggles to navigate.
Digital boundaries prevent the robot from crossing certain areas
Every other robot on our list supports this feature. Usually, it means you can draw a rectangle on the map to mark a forbidden zone.
No-Mop zones
This option helps the robot to stay away from carpets in mopping mode. For example, you can draw a rectangle on the map in the Roborock app to mark a carpet and the S7 MaxV Ultra will avoid this area when mopping. As soon as you remove the mopping pad, the no-mope zone becomes "inactive" for the robot. This feature is also supported by others except for the Roomba i7+
The Deebots and Roborock can automatically detect a carpet and avoid it when working with the mopping pad attached. Even though the others can detect carpets as well, they can't automatically mark carpets as no-mop zones, the carpet recognition only works to boost suction when the robot is on the carpet.
No-Go zones vs. No-Mop zones
The no-go zones are stable and active in vacuuming and mopping mode while the no-mop zones disappear once the mopping attachments are removed.
Why buy a robot vacuum with an electronic water tank
The electronic water tank allows setting the amount of water dripping depending on mopping tasks. This ensures better mopping results. Some robots also allow shutting off suction in mopping mode.
Is it possible to send the robot to clean a specific place or a room?
You can achieve that with a zoned cleaning feature and room cleaning.
Zone cleaning is useful if you want to clean a specific area without having the robot clean the whole home.
Make the robot vacuum clean within a certain area using zoned cleaning
The selected room cleaning is similar to the zone cleaning. The room cleaning normally means you have to click on a section while with zoned cleaning you have to draw a rectangle.
When the map is created, and the rooms are set, you can choose one or more rooms to clean by using the app. You can also schedule the robot to work in the kitchen at a specific time.
Can I see where my robot has already been cleaned?
In the app, you can track some robot's movements in real-time. Watching your cleaner create a map is magnificent.
Can I control the vacuum’s movements?
To control your robot vacuum like a radio car, you can use your smartphone. Supported by all the models except for the Roomba j7+.
Can I use the robot in my two-level house?
The ones in the list are able to recognize their location if being placed manually in the middle of the room it has been mapped before.
Maintenance
Let's get to basics of maintenance and what you have to do to keep your device clean.
- Sensors: look after all the sensors. Clean it from dust once in a while.
- Side brush: unwrap all the hair that might be collected around.
- Dustbin: empty the dustbin after every cleaning. The Roomba has a full bin indicator, and when the container needs to be emptied, it returns to the self-emptying charging base and gets emptied automatically.
- Wheels: the hair could be tangled around the wheels so check it out.
- Main brush. One of the main reasons why the robot could stop working is when something gets stuck in its cleaning brush. Clean it from hair, dirt, and small particulars after each session. The Roomba robots are equipped with silicone rollers that are designed as tangle-free, which means it takes minimum time to take care of it.
- App: update the app regularly.
- Water containers. Wash them regularly.
- Disposable bags. Replace when full.
Quick Guide Through Every Robot Cleaner
The Dreame Z10 Pro is the newest robot vacuum from the company that is not only guided by Lidar but also recognizes objects. In my testings, the robot did one of the best jobs in cleaning tests.
Besides, the robot is really good-looking. The base is one of the most powerful I've tested even compared to the Roomba i3+.
The downside of the robot is the small water tank. I would not recommend getting it if you need mopping and have a big hard floor area. But other than that, the Dreame Z10 Pro has all the features of the most expensive robots but wouldn't break your bank account.
Dreame Z10 Pro
Best value
Get the Dreame Z10 Pro if you:
Want a valuable robot vacuum with a self-emptying base that does not cost lots.
The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra is the most convenient robot to use in homes with a mixed surface.
It is one of a few robots on the market that lifts the mopping pad when cleans carpet and also vibrates. Unlike other robots that avoid carpets in mopping mode, it vacuums the carpets so you don;t have to run it twice. It also has a big battery and shows great performance on both hard floors and carpets. With a rubber brush, it is ideal for pet owners and those who have to deal with long hair.
The robot supports a self-emptying base that is sold optionally.
Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra
The best for mixed surface
Get the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra if you:
Live in a big house. The Roborock is ideal for multi-level houses.
Have a mixed surface. It is the most convenient robot vacuum-mop to use on both carpets and hard floors.
Want a robot vacuum that does it all, washes itself, empties the dustbin on its own.
The Roomba j7+ is one of the most expensive models on the market. It is equipped with another front camera for recognizing objects and seems to be doing a good job. Maybe one of the best on the market.
The robot has the smallest self-emptying base too and lacks a mopping feature.
The advantage of the Roomba is dirt detection, it recognizes high-traffic areas paying more attention to those zones. The robot is also equipped with a double-roller system that is ideal for dealing with hair.
The downside of the robot is a small battery so I wouldn't recommend it for big homes even tho the j7+ saves more than one map and can be used in multi-level houses. It is the only one in the list that navigates by using a camera thus having the shortest body that can get under most furniture. It is also the only in the list that has full bin indicator which means once the dustbin gets full, the robot returns to the base to empty itself.
Get the Roomba i7+ if you:
Have pets. This is the best solution for pet hair as it gets to the self-emptying bin once the bin is full thanks to the indicator. It also recognizes dirty areas automatically. This is not suitable for big homes tho.
The Roomba j7+ is the best solution for pet owners and smaller homes.
The Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI is the most advanced and expensive robot not only on the list but on the market altogether. It has strong suction and high-end features but the best thing about it is the self-cleaning base.
The base is not only sucking out the dustbin content but also auto refills the water tank and washed mopping pad.
So it basically does all the maintenance instead of you. You don't have to wash the cloth, fill the tank with water or empty the dustbin. The system does it for you.
Get the Neato Botvac D7 Connected if you:
Want the best on the market without spending time on maintenance.
The Roborock Q5+ is the newest in the lineup and shares almost all features of its other modifications in the model line only lacks a mopping feature and object recognition. It has a self-emptying base, it is powerful, and is ideal for homes with mostly carpets or those who do not need mopping.
Roborock Q5+
Affordable with a self-cleaning base for carpets
Get the Roborock Q5+ if you:
Looking for an affordable robot with a self-emptying base and don't need mopping.
Quick Summary
Dreame Z10 Pro on Amazon — $599.99; on Aliexpress - $408.42.
The best value. If you want all the features of expensive models without paying the same money. Not suitable for big areas of hard floors if you want to use mopping.
Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra on Amazon — $859.99.
The most convenient to use on a mixed surface. One of the most featured.
Roomba j7+ on Amazon — $599.0.
One of the best object recognition performance is on par with the smallest self-emptying base. Because of a small battery, the j7+ is not suitable for big homes.
Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI on Aliexpress - $1313.89.
The most-featured and expensive one. For those who want to have good cleaning performance not spending time on maintenance.
Roborock Q5+ on Amazon — $699.99.
If you want Roborock features and performance but don't want to pay for the S7 MaxV Ultra.
Do you have any questions left? Still not sure which robot vacuum cleaner with mapping to buy? Ask us in the comment section down below, and we will try to help you figure out what option would be best for you.