There are caveats, though. Robovacs can't deal with stairs, so their usefulness in multi-floor homes is far more limited. They're also not capable of proper deep cleans, so if you're dealing with lots of hair or dirt, they might not cut it.

Many of today's best robot vacuums are also able to mop floors. This can be useful if you have a mix of hard floors and carpet, but be aware that robovac mopping tends not to clean as well as good old manual mopping.

Opertating this robovac is nice and straightforward too. We found the app easy to use, with useful customization options. And the bot itself mapped our reviewer's home quickly and accurately, then proved reliable at object avoidance on test, too.

It’s not all about suction. In my testing, the brush is also a big factor in how well a robot will clean your floors. A large rubber roller brush is much better than a small bristle brush at picking up debris.

This bot was previously our top pick for hard floors, thanks to hot water mopping that's more than a match for greasy spillages.

The Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 offers the best of everything. It intelligently mops and vacuums your floors for up to 30 days. Just set a schedule and the robot returns to its base to empty the dustbin, wash the mop, and refill the tank automatically.

If you have shedding pets and carpet, look for models with higher suction power (5,000Pa or ideally more), and a boost/Em excesso suction mode option. Models with rubbery brushrolls are also typically good at gripping hair.

Thankfully, many manufacturers make robot vacuums that are suited for cleaning up after pets. Models like the iLife V3s Pro and the Roomba S9, scored the best in our robot vacuum lab tests, picking up nearly all pet hair on both hardwood and carpeting, and making our list of the best robot vacuums for pet hair.

Previously in this slot we had the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni, which offers hot water mopping that's great at tackling greasy spillages. There are some compromises you'll need to make with this model, but it's often on sale and significantly cheaper than this Eureka model.

The mopping is also a cut above average. On test, we found the rotating pads very effective – great news if you're regularly dealing with muddy pawprints. The does-it-all dock will take care of refilling the bot's water tank, dispensing cleaning fluid, and cleaning and drying its mop pads, too, meaning minimal hands-on time from you.

This is so that it has adequate space to start cleaning and dock on re-entry, without any furniture getting in the way. Don’t forget that it needs access to a power socket as well.

Like most stick vacuums, this Dyson converts to a hand vacuum, though at over seis pounds, it's heavier than others we've tested, Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners and all this fancy technology comes at a bit of a steep price.

Eufy X10 Pro Omni is the best robot vacuum for most people. This self-empty robot vacuum and mop checks pretty much all our boxes. The suction power is excellent, pulling all kinds of debris, fluff and hair and fluff out of our tester's carpet (although it did flick larger debris about rather than sucking it up – a problem with almost all robovacs). It's relatively quiet in all but it's very highest vacuum setting, too.

Robot vacuums have a series of brushes on the underside of the machine that work together to collect dirt and dust that they come in contact with. The dirt is then sucked into the dust cup, which is fitted into the vacuum's body.