How do robot vacuums map your home?

The three main navigation types

Robot vacuums sold in the UK broadly fall into three groups. Lidar robots carry a spinning laser sensor, usually in a small round turret on top, that measures the distance to walls and furniture many times a second. Camera robots (sometimes called vSLAM) use one or more cameras to recognise features such as door frames and corners, and newer models add a front camera or 3D sensor to spot objects on the floor. Gyro robots rely on a gyroscope, wheel sensors and bump sensors to clean in rows without building a full map.

Many current robots mix these. A lidar robot may also have a front camera or structured-light sensor for obstacle avoidance, and some makers use a solid-state or retracting laser so the robot can be lower. For a fuller side-by-side, see our explainer on lidar vs camera robot vacuums.

What happens on the first mapping run

Most app-connected robots offer a quick mapping run, where the robot drives round the edges of each room without cleaning, or they build the map during the first full clean. The robot uses SLAM (simultaneous localisation and mapping): it estimates where it is from its sensors and wheel movement, and refines the map as it sees the same walls again from different angles.

When the run ends, the app shows a floor plan and usually guesses where the rooms are by looking for doorways. You can then check the result and tidy it up. Mapping works best when the home looks the way it normally does on cleaning day.

1. 1

   Open all internal doors you want the robot to clean behind.

2. 2

   Pick up cables, socks, phone chargers and small toys from the floor.

3. 3

   Turn on the lights if your robot is camera based.

4. 4

   Start the mapping run from the app with the robot on its dock.

5. 5

   Leave it alone until it returns; moving it by hand can confuse the map.

6. 6

   Review the rooms in the app and save the map.

Room splitting, no-go zones and virtual walls

Once the map is saved, the app is where the real control lives. Room splitting lets you draw a line to divide an open-plan kitchen and living room, and merging joins two areas the robot split in the wrong place. You can name rooms, set a different suction level or water flow for each, and choose the order they are cleaned in.

No-go zones are boxes the robot will not enter, which suit pet bowls, a rug with tassels or the area behind the television. Virtual walls are lines it will not cross, handy across a doorway. Many robots with mops also offer no-mop zones for rugs and carpets. On most models these features need the app, so they rely on the robot having a saved map and a Wi-Fi connection during setup.

If you are planning how many rooms to send the robot to in one go, our floor-area adder adds up each room in square metres and compares the total with the maker's stated coverage per charge.

• Room cleaning: send the robot to one or more named rooms.
• Zone cleaning: draw a box for a quick tidy, such as under the dining table.
• Spot cleaning: tap a point on the map for a small spill.
• Cleaning order and per-room settings: suction, water flow and passes.

Multi-floor maps for houses

Most mapping robots can store more than one map, so you can carry the robot upstairs, start it and let it work out which floor it is on. Several listings mention this directly: the eufy L60 listing describes multi-floor mapping alongside room selection and no-go zones, and the Tapo RV30 Max Plus listing describes several locally stored maps for different floors. The number of maps varies by model, so check the listing or manual.

A robot only charges and self-empties at its own dock, so on a second floor it will finish where it started or stop when the battery runs low. Some households buy a second dock or a second robot for upstairs. Robots cannot climb stairs, but their cliff sensors stop them falling down them; see can robot vacuums do stairs.

Does a eufy RoboVac have mapping?

It depends on the model. Eufy, like most brands, sells both gyro robots that clean in rows without an editable map and laser or camera models with full mapping. As a rule, if the listing mentions lidar, laser navigation, room selection or no-go zones in the app, the robot keeps a saved map. If it only mentions boundary strips, path planning or a gyroscope, assume it does not.

The same check works for any brand: look for the words lidar, laser, LDS, dToF or vSLAM, and for room selection in the app. Our guide to the best robot vacuums for small flats notes the navigation type of each pick.

See robots for small flats →

When maps go wrong

Maps can drift or break when furniture moves a lot, when mirrors or floor-length glass confuse a laser, or when the robot is picked up and put down mid-clean. Common signs are rooms appearing rotated, a second ghost copy of a room, or the robot refusing to enter an area it used to clean.

The usual fixes are to clean the lidar window or camera lens with a dry cloth, restore a saved backup of the map if your app offers one, or delete the map and run a fresh mapping run. Exact steps differ between apps, so check the maker's support pages. Robots with obstacle-avoiding cameras also handle clutter better; see our obstacle avoidance guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do robot vacuums store a picture of my home? A lidar map is a floor plan made of distance points, not a photo. Camera robots process images to navigate and recognise objects, and some offer remote viewing; check the maker's privacy settings and turn off features you do not want.

Can a robot vacuum map in the dark? Lidar robots can, because the laser does not need room light. Camera robots usually need some light, although some carry their own small light for dark spots under furniture.

How long does the first map take? For a typical flat, a quick mapping run is usually a matter of minutes rather than hours, while mapping during a full clean takes as long as the clean. Larger or cluttered homes take longer.

Do I need to remap after moving furniture? Not usually. Robots adapt to moved chairs and sofas. Remap only if the room layout changed, such as a new wall or a door that is now always shut.