Much of this comes from the robot vacuum's initial mapping run of your home — and while many robot vacuums actually create a fairly accurate map on the first try, it probably won't be perfect.

Your robot vacuum may already work well enough, but there are a few tweaks that can make it even better. A big factor in your robot vacuum's performance, it turns out, is actually you.

We tested 13 of the most popular robot vacuums that promise to keep your house clean by picking up dirt, dust and pet hair, and three models stood out as the best.

The current robot vacuum-mop combos are too fickle, flawed, or expensive to recommend. But we expect they’ll get better.

Robot vacuums are actually worth it if you understand their settings. As a pro robot vacuum tester, I've learned some tips to set them up for success.