Top of the 'bots – the best automated vacuum cleaners on the market

Whether you’re moving into a new home or keeping your existing place in the best condition for potential buyers, keeping the floor spotless might be close to the top of your priorities – but it’s few people’s favourite household chore.

For couch potatoes, the arrival robot vacuum cleaners means dirty floors can now be taken care of without lifting a finger. Richenda Oldham rounds up the latest 'bots…

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1 Vileda's Cleaning Robot can tackle all hard flooring, as well as short pile carpets and has added vacuum power to help pick up finer dust and fluff. It even has three different settings depending on the size of the room you want to clean, £149.99, www.vileda.co.uk 

2 iRobot's new Roomba 980 robotic vacuum cleaner is a highly efficient smart cleaner that can be controlled from anywhere using iRobot's new Home app. Featuring visual localisation technology, the Roomba can create an actual map of your home using a visual and floor tracking sensors, so it knows how far to travel, £799.99, www.hughes.co.uk 

3 Awkward areas are no match for Rob.com3's dual rotating side brushes. This programmable cleaner can be controlled remotely via a smartphone or tablet and comes with nine intensive cleaning programmes ranging from concentrated spot cleaning to turbo vacuuming, £499.99, www.hoover.co.uk 

4 When the Kobold VR200's battery need's recharging it simply takes itself back to its base station and then continues vacuuming from the point where it stopped. The VR200 navigates potential hazards using sophisticated laser navigation and over 12 sensors, £749, kobold.vorwerk.co.uk/robot/ 

5 Samsung's VR9300 has immensely powerful suction thanks to its Digital Inverter Technology. The cleaner can be controlled with a smartphone and allows you to choose which rooms you want vacuumed. You can schedule its cleaning times while you are away and then check the results on its cleaning report, £799, www.samsung.com