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Roomba may have invented the modern robot vacuum, but startups have sprung up in the past few years to challenge their supremacy with cheap Roomba alternatives that cost under $200.
Robot vacuums work by rolling around your floor, sucking up dirt and dust particles; they’re generally small enough to fit under small spaces like your couch or bed too, letting them reach nooks and crannies upright vacuums can’t. Motion and depth sensors keep the vacuum from going over the same area over and over again, bumping into walls, or falling down the stairs. You can even set a robot vacuum to work on a schedule using an app or smart-home speaker like the Amazon Echo Dot, so it cleans when you’re not around to hear it.
If you’ve…
