robot vacuum cleaners glossary: all technical terms explained

Function

The cleaning tasks a robot can perform determine which parts of your floor care routine it can handle.

Mopping: Wiping hard floors with a damp pad helps remove light dirt and marks that vacuuming can leave behind.
Mop: A damp cleaning pad wipes hard floors to help lift light dirt and surface marks.

Use

The intended cleaning environment helps you choose a robot suited to the messes and surfaces you need to clean.

Pets: Designed for homes with animals, this option helps you find robots suited to collecting fur and tracked-in dirt.
Dog hair: Designed to collect shed dog fur, this option helps you find robots suited to a common source of floor debris.
Pool: Designed to clean debris from swimming pools, these robots work underwater rather than on household floors.
Above-ground pool: Designed for pools built above the ground, these cleaners must suit the pool's lining, shape, and access conditions.

Features

Extra capabilities determine how much control, convenience, and help with routine maintenance a robot provides.

Self-emptying station: A dock transfers collected dirt from the robot into a larger container, reducing how often you empty its onboard bin.
LiDAR navigation: Laser distance measurements help the robot map rooms and follow planned cleaning routes instead of wandering randomly.
Alexa compatible: Support for a compatible voice assistant lets you give cleaning commands by speaking through a connected device.
App compatible: A compatible phone app lets you control cleaning and access settings, with available controls depending on the robot.

Customer rating

Feedback from buyers helps you compare reported satisfaction, though it does not replace independent performance tests.

4 stars and up: This filter shows products whose average customer rating meets a higher minimum satisfaction threshold.
3 stars and up: This filter shows products meeting a lower minimum customer rating, including those with more mixed feedback.

Special offer

Promotional availability helps you find listings with advertised purchase incentives, whose terms should be checked.

Sale: A promotional listing advertises a reduced price, so checking its terms helps you judge the actual savings.
On sale: An advertised discount indicates a price reduction, whose value depends on the reference price and offer terms.

Station

The docking setup determines which routine maintenance tasks happen automatically and which you handle yourself.

No station: No maintenance station is included, so you handle bin emptying and mop care yourself even if a charging dock is provided.
Self-emptying station: A dock transfers collected dirt from the robot into a larger container, reducing how often you empty its onboard bin.
Emptying + washing station: A dock empties the robot's dustbin and washes its mop pads, reducing the amount of hands-on care after cleaning.
3-in-1 station (emptying + washing + drying): A dock that empties the robot's dustbin, washes its mop pads, and dries them to reduce hands-on maintenance after cleaning.

Navigation

Determines how the robot finds its way around your home, affecting floor coverage, route efficiency, and missed areas.

LiDAR: A laser sensor measures distances to map rooms, helping the robot follow planned cleaning routes and locate itself.
Camera: Uses images of the surroundings to help the robot locate itself and plan cleaning routes, with performance affected by lighting.
Laser + camera: Combines laser distance measurements with visual information to help the robot map rooms and navigate around its surroundings.
Gyroscope: Tracks changes in the robot's direction to guide cleaning routes, but can lose track of its position as errors accumulate.
Random: Changes direction when it meets obstacles instead of following a mapped route, so it may revisit areas and miss others.

Obstacle detection

Affects how well the robot notices objects in its path before contact, helping reduce collisions, snagging, and interruptions.

None: Provides no dedicated object detection before contact, so the robot may bump into furniture or get caught on small items.
2D: Senses obstacles within a flat scanning plane to help avoid objects, but may miss items above or below that plane.
3D: Senses depth and height to help identify obstacles in the robot's path, improving its ability to avoid objects before contact.

Multi-floor mapping

Lets the robot save separate maps for different floors, so you can reuse room layouts and cleaning settings when moving it.

No-go zones

Lets you mark areas on a map that the robot should stay out of, helping protect delicate spaces or avoid places where it gets stuck.

Mop lifting

Lets the robot raise its mop pads to reduce wet contact with surfaces and help switch between vacuuming and mopping.

Mopping type

Determines how the mop moves against the floor, affecting how it loosens dirt and handles dried spills on hard surfaces.

Dragged mop: Pulls a damp pad across the floor as the robot moves, wiping up light dirt with limited scrubbing action.
Vibration/sonic: Moves the mop pad rapidly back and forth to scrub hard floors and help loosen dirt that a simple wipe may leave behind.
Rotating discs: Spins mop pads against the floor to scrub hard surfaces and help loosen dirt and dried spills during cleaning.

Carpet handling

Affects how the robot cleans carpeted areas and manages wet mop contact when moving between carpets and hard floors.

Carpet detection: Recognizes carpeted surfaces so the robot can adjust its cleaning behavior, such as changing suction or controlling mop contact.
Avoids carpets: Keeps the robot off carpets during mopping to help prevent wetting them, which can leave nearby hard-floor edges uncleaned.
Mop lifting on carpets: Raises the mop pads when carpet is detected to reduce wetting, though thick carpet may still touch the pads.

Main brush

The main brush design affects how the robot lifts dirt from floors and how much hair you need to remove during maintenance.

Rubber: Rubber fins help lift dirt and hair from floors and are generally easier to clear of wrapped hair than bristle brushes.
Bristles + rubber: A mix of bristles and rubber fins helps loosen dirt and guide it toward the suction inlet, though hair can collect in the bristles.
Anti-tangle: A brush designed to reduce hair wrapping can make maintenance easier, though you may still need to remove trapped strands.
Designed for pet hair: A brush intended for pet hair helps collect shed fur from floors, though it still needs regular cleaning.

Side brushes

Side brushes sweep debris near walls and corners toward the suction inlet, affecting how well the robot cleans floor edges.

Filtration

The filter affects how much fine dust stays inside the robot instead of returning to the room through its exhaust.

HEPA H13: This filter class traps more fine airborne particles than lower HEPA classes, helping limit dust released through the exhaust.
HEPA H11/H12: These filter classes trap fine airborne particles but allow more to pass through than higher HEPA classes.
Non-HEPA: A filter without a HEPA classification can collect dust, but the label alone does not tell you how well it traps fine particles.

Recharge and resume

The robot returns to its dock when the battery runs low, then continues the unfinished cleaning job after recharging.

Connectivity

Connection options affect how you set up the robot, control it remotely, and access features through an app.

Wi‑Fi 2,4 GHz: This wireless connection usually reaches farther through walls, and the robot needs a router network using the same band.
Wi‑Fi 5 GHz: This wireless connection generally has less reach through walls, and the robot needs a router network using the same band.
Bluetooth: A short-range wireless link lets a nearby phone communicate with the robot, often for setup or local controls.
Offline: The robot can clean without an internet connection, though remote controls and online features may be unavailable.

Voice assistants

Voice assistant support lets you request compatible cleaning actions by speaking to a connected phone or speaker.

Google Assistant: Compatibility with this voice assistant lets you request supported cleaning actions through a linked phone or smart speaker.
Siri/Shortcuts: Compatible phone shortcuts let you trigger supported cleaning actions by voice or include them in automated routines.

Pet-friendly

Features intended for homes with pets can affect fur pickup, maintenance, and how the robot handles obstacles around animals.

Battery type

Battery chemistry affects charging behavior, battery weight, and how well the battery holds its capacity over time.

Li-ion: A rechargeable lithium-ion battery stores energy in a relatively light pack and can be topped up without waiting until it is empty.
LiFePO4: A rechargeable battery chemistry that offers a long service life and good heat stability, helping the robot retain reliable battery performance over time.
NiMH: A rechargeable battery chemistry that powers the robot but can gradually lose charge while stored, so it may need recharging before use.

Pool type

Helps you choose a cleaner suited to the pool's construction, which affects how it moves, climbs, and handles the pool's shape.

Above-ground: A pool built above ground level, whose wall shape and construction affect which cleaners can move safely and clean effectively.
In-ground: A pool built into the ground, whose depth, slopes, and wall shape affect how well a cleaner can reach and clean its surfaces.

Pool surface

Helps you match the cleaner's brushes and grip to the pool's finish so it can remove dirt, climb effectively, and avoid damaging the surface.

Liner: A flexible waterproof pool lining that needs compatible brushes and wheels to remove dirt without scuffing or tearing the material.
Tile: A pool finish made of individual tiles, where suitable brushes help remove dirt from the surface and grout while maintaining grip.
Concrete/painted: A concrete or painted pool finish that needs compatible brushes to remove dirt while accounting for surface roughness and protecting any paint.
Polyester shell: A molded pool shell made from polyester resin reinforced with fiberglass, whose smooth finish needs suitable brushes and grip for effective cleaning.

Power source (pool)

Determines how the cleaner receives energy, affecting setup, freedom of movement, and whether charging is needed between cleaning sessions.

Mains: Uses electricity from a household outlet through a suitable power supply and cable, allowing cleaning without recharging a battery.
Battery: Uses a rechargeable battery to clean without a power cable in the pool, but needs recharging between cleaning sessions.

Cleaning areas (pool)

Shows which parts of the pool the cleaner can reach, helping you understand where it removes dirt and where manual cleaning may still be needed.

Floor: Cleans the bottom of the pool, collecting settled dirt and debris that would otherwise need to be removed manually.
Walls: Climbs and cleans the pool's vertical sides, helping remove attached dirt and reducing the need for manual wall brushing.
Waterline: Cleans the band where the water meets the pool wall, helping remove the buildup of oils and dirt that often collects there.