The first home robot I ever tested was the Roomba vacuum cleaner, back in the early 2000s. I remember being wowed by the fact that its technology was based on the same algorithms used by the military to develop mine-hunting robots for deployment in combat zones. Pretty cool! It was also surprisingly adept at sucking up dust bunnies from under the sofa.
Ironically, Roomba’s parent company, iRobot, filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2025. But I believe that had more to do with the rest of the robotics industry catching up than any flaws with the technology itself. Indeed, as our latest tests throughout the Good Housekeeping Institute have found, today’s robots can make life easier all over the house—and not just with vacuuming.
I checked in with each Lab in the Institute, from Cleaning to Home Improvement to Kitchen Appliances, to pull together this list of household tasks that are robot-ready.
Mowing the Lawn
Robotic lawn mowers have been around even longer than robotic vacuums, following the launch of “the turtle,” a solar-powered mower from Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna in 1995. The category struggled to catch on for its first couple of decades, mainly because it relied on perimeter wires that had to be buried around the property to keep the robotic mower penned in.
The rise of wire-free technology in recent years has eliminated that nuisance, while also making robotic lawn mowers much better at delivering clear, carpet-like results over every nook and cranny of the yard. Many more brands have entered the category, ranging from major players like Toro and Greenworks to crossovers like Eufy and Segway. But our top pick is still Husqvarna, specifically the Automower 450XH Robotic Lawn Mower with GPS Assisted Navigation.
Behind its high-precision satellite navigation technology, the mower achieved positional accuracy down to the centimeter when tested by lawn care expert Tyler Graham for our 2025 Home Reno Awards. The robot’s bevy of built-in sensors also detected and navigated obstacles with ease.
I’m a big fan of all robotic lawn mowers, since they return clippings to the lawn as mulch, a natural fertilizer that promotes healthier soil. Husqvarna takes sustainability a step further with its Rewilding Mode, which intentionally leaves 10% of the lawn uncut to create habitat space for pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
Cleaning the Floors
The category that put home robotics on the map just keeps getting better. “The biggest leap in robot vacuums of the past 20-plus years has been navigation,” says Noah Pinsonnault, home care & cleaning reviews analyst in the GH Cleaning Lab. “Early models relied on basic sensors and largely bumped around at random, but today's robot vacs can map your rooms, plan efficient cleaning routes, and even detect and avoid common obstacles left on the floor.”
Robotic vacuums have also become multipurpose, with many models adding mopping to their list of functions. The Dreame X50 Ultra Robot Vacuum won a 2026 Good Housekeeping Cleaning Award on the strength of that versatility. During testing, it left both carpet and bare floors almost spotless, and it features a self-emptying base that doubles as a cleaning and drying station for the mop.
Sweeping the Pool
If you own a pool, you know that it doesn’t take long for leaves and other debris to turn into unsightly stains. With its non-stop monitoring, a robotic pool cleaner eliminates that eyesore, while also keeping the filtration system running smoothly by stirring up the water on a regular basis.
In the past, aquatic robots struggled with large debris, had limited cleaning range, or ended up capsized in the water, literally spinning their wheels. The Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra uses AI to learn your pool’s characteristics, making it better at mapping the area, detecting debris, and planning efficient cleaning paths. During extensive field tests at the homes of two consumer testers, the pool cleaning robot handled the water line, floor, and walls on a single charge and parked itself on the pool deck when it was done.
Washing the Windows
Be honest—when’s the last time you cleaned your windows? Even if you’re diligent about this dreaded task, higher-up windows in the home are often impossible to reach. Enter the Winbot W2 Pro OMNI from Ecovacs, another Cleaning Awards recipient.
There are a few other models on the market, but this category of home robots is still relatively young. However, Ecovacs is solely focused on home robots, so it did a solid job with its design and development of the Winbot. Our experts in the Cleaning Lab set the robot loose on our Lab windows, and it left them clean and streak-free, even in the hard-to-reach corners.
You might be concerned about the Winbot losing its suction and crashing to the ground. But over hours of testing, it stayed securely in place as it moved methodically across our large expanses of glass. We like that you can select problem areas for deeper cleaning or designate custom cleaning paths. Its portable Omni station combines power, controls, and storage into one compact hub.
Clearing the Litter Box
If you have a cat, I’m sure you love it. But I’ll bet you don’t love cleaning its litter box. Robotic litter boxes do the dirty work for you. Believe it or not, they’ve been around for more than two decades and, like other home robots, have made major improvements in that time.
Whisker Litter-Robot 5 Pro
Our current favorite is the Whisker Litter-Robot 5 Pro, which uses AI-powered camera technology to determine when your cat enters the spherical contraption to do its business. Once the cat exits, the inside of the device rotates, sending used litter through a sifter so that waste falls into a bin, and clean sand is returned to the box. The box is always fresh and clean, even if there are multiple cats in the household. All you need to do is empty the bin every week to 10 days.
“My cat seems to love this thing,” said one of our consumer testers. “And we are very happy never to have to scoop again.”
Scrubbing the Grill
The grilling season is just around the corner, which means burgers and brats, but also lots of elbow grease cleaning the grates after every cookout. That is, unless you spring for an automatic grill cleaning robot. For now, the market is cornered by Grillbot, which consists of rotating nylon-bristle brushes that move across the grill grates for up to 30 minutes at a time.
I’ve used the Grillbot many times over the years, and it’s always done an excellent job removing grease and grime from my grates. I’ll admit there are times when I reach for the manual brush, since it’s a lot faster to clean the grill by hand. But if you grill often and you don’t like this messy task (or you’re prevented from doing it by arthritis or other mobility conditions), the Grillbot will be a welcome addition to your army of home robots.
