Independent rankings
Best robot vacuums for obstacle avoidance
Robot vacuums that see a charging cable, a sock and a dog bowl for what they are, and go round them.
An obstacle sensor is what decides whether you tidy the floor before every run. Infrared sees a wall; a camera with a depth sensor sees a cable and knows to leave it. Weighted on recognition above everything else, with value deliberately at zero — this ranking answers one question, and price is not it.
2 / 4 models evaluated
Weighted for this ranking
- Obstacle Avoidance
- 38%
- Navigation
- 22%
- Cleaning
- 14%
- Automation
- 10%
- Mopping
- 6%
- Ease of Use
- 5%
- Reliability
- 5%
- Best Overall#1
Roborock press imageRoborockSaros 20
84/100Roborock's flagship: 36,000 Pa, twin spinning mops the dock washes at 100 °C, and a solid-state 3D sensor instead of a LiDAR turret.
- Cleaning
- 93
- Navigation
- 92
- Mopping
- 90
- Obstacle Avoidance
- 95
3D ToF + Vision36,000 PaSpinning mopSelf-emptying$1,600Check price - #2
Roborock press imageRoborockSaros Z70
81/100The robot vacuum with an arm: 22,000 Pa, solid-state 3D sensing and a five-axis gripper that moves socks and slippers out of its own way.
- Cleaning
- 93
- Navigation
- 87
- Mopping
- 90
- Obstacle Avoidance
- 95
3D ToF + Vision22,000 PaSpinning mopSelf-emptying$1,700Check price