Independent rankings
Robot vacuums with no camera named by the maker, for navigation or for obstacles: a LiDAR map and structured light or a bumper, ranked on cleaning, the map and the dock, with the obstacle sensor printed on each row.
Every machine on this list has no camera named by the maker, for navigation or for obstacles, and none claims pet recognition, which is a camera by another name. What a lens-free machine gives up is recognition: it cannot tell pet waste from a doorstop, so it keeps the same margin from both, and a thin cable or a sock lying flat gets under the brush more often. What it keeps is the map, since LiDAR is a laser and not a lens, and the full dock with self-emptying and mop washing, which never needed a camera. For a home where the floor is cleared before the robot starts, or where a lens in the living room is not acceptable at any price, this is the list; each row names the obstacle sensor.
10 / 83 models evaluated · Updated
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The American Aqua10 Roller: 30,000 Pa, a fresh-water roller mop that extends 4 cm, lifts 14 mm and seals itself on carpet, 4 cm double thresholds, four maps, a 100 °C wash and 65 °C drying.
The second L40 Ultra: 25,000 Pa, a TriCut hair-cutting brush, mops that extend 4 cm and lift 10.5 mm, LiDAR, four maps, and a dock that empties, washes, hot-air dries and doses detergent.
Narwal's budget robot: 18,500 Pa, Reuleaux mops at 12 N that swing to edges and lift 12 mm, LiDAR with two structured-light sensors, and a dock that washes, dries and doses detergent.
A budget full-dock robot: 19,000 Pa with a carpet boost, LiDAR with a single laser, a pad that extends 4 cm and lifts 10.5 mm, 260 minutes a charge, washing, drying, refill and 75 days of dust.
The D30 Ultra CE: 25,000 Pa, twin spinning mops that lift 10.5 mm, LiDAR, four maps, 2 cm thresholds, and a PowerDock 2.0 washing on 20 nozzles, air-drying and emptying for 100 days.
Narwal's entry-level robot with a full dock: 11,000 Pa, LiDAR navigation, twin mops that reach into corners, a dock that empties, washes and dries for 120 days, and anti-tangle brushes.
The sensible Roborock: 18,500 Pa, LiDAR mapping, spinning mops that lift for carpet and a dock that washes at 75 °C, dries and empties for seven weeks, at well under half the flagship's price.
A washing-and-emptying dock under a D-series robot: 25,000 Pa, a TriCut brush, pads that swing 4 cm and lift 10.5 mm, a laser obstacle sensor, four maps, 230 minutes a charge and 50 °C drying.
Dreame's full-dock L40 for Poland: 13,000 Pa, a hair-cutting TriCut brush, twin spinning mops that lift for carpet, LiDAR, and a dock that empties, washes, air-dries and refills.
Roborock's British mid-ranger: 25,000 Pa, anti-tangle brushes, twin spinning mops that extend and come off for carpet, LiDAR with structured light, 63 dB and a dock that washes, dries and empties.