If your dog or cat sheds, a robot vacuum specifically designed to collect debris off flooring surfaces could make your life simpler by dramatically decreasing how much time and energy is put into vacuuming.
The ideal robot vacuum will have object avoidance built into its operating system, to keep humans and pets out of its path. Your type of flooring also matters: many robots can switch seamlessly from hardwood floors to carpet, while some even mop your floors!
After conducting exhaustive testing of 31 robot vacuums at our New York City lab and sending each to an actual home with real pets for several months, our top pick–which best fits most pet owners–is the iRobot Roomba J7+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum. It scans an area while simultaneously recognizing temporary obstacles (like your pet or an accident caused by them!) before communicating its decision with you via the Roomba app on mobile phone.