About iRobot
iRobot was founded in 1990 by MIT roboticists Colin Angle, Helen Greiner, and Rodney Brooks, and is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts. The company spent its first decade on industrial and military robotics before turning to the home, and in 2002 it launched the original Roomba, the first affordable robot vacuum, which became a surprise hit that Christmas season. Since then, iRobot has sold more than 50 million robots worldwide and built the Roomba name into the category most people picture when they hear "robot vacuum." In early 2026, iRobot completed a court-supervised restructuring that transferred ownership to Picea Robotics; the company says it is continuing Roomba development, manufacturing, and support without interruption, and it established a separate subsidiary, iRobot Safe, to govern U.S. consumer data.
The engineering we've tested directly centers on making the robot genuinely hands-free: an AutoWash Dock that empties the bin and washes and dries its own mop pads for weeks at a stretch, PrecisionVision AI that steers around cords, socks, and pet accidents instead of dragging them across the floor, and ClearView LiDAR mapping that iRobot has pushed down into its lower-priced Combo models rather than reserving it for the flagship. The current lineup spans Combo vacuum-and-mop robots, vacuum-only Roomba models, Braava mopping robots, and, new for 2026, the Roomba Electro Plus, a cordless, user-operated hard-floor cleaner.
Brand website: irobot.com
What iRobot makes
iRobot's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Roomba Combo robots
vacuum-and-mop combo line, from the AutoWash Dock flagship down to entry-level models — featured on DIYRated — featured on DIYRated
Roomba vacuum-only robots
camera- and LiDAR-navigation vacuum-only line, including the entry-level Roomba Vac
Braava mopping robots
dedicated mopping robots such as the Braava Jet m6
Roomba Electro Plus
cordless, user-operated 5-in-1 hard-floor cleaner announced in 2026
iRobot Home app
room-specific mapping, scheduling, and smart-home integration across the robot lineup
Why we recognized iRobot
The DIYRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. iRobot earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, put to work on real jobs, and judged on merit.
iRobot products we rated highly
iRobot Roomba Plus 505X Combo
A top pick in our testing thanks to precise ClearView Pro LiDAR mapping and consistently strong cleaning across hard floors and carpet, the two attributes owners praise most across more than 9,000 reviews. Its AutoWash Dock empties itself for up to 75 days and washes and dries its own mop pads, and PrecisionVision AI steers around cords, socks, and pet accidents rather than dragging them across the floor. It switches automatically between vacuuming and mopping and lifts its pads before crossing onto carpet.
Read the 8 Best Robot Vacuums of 2026 guide →
iRobot Roomba 105 Combo
One of our top picks for bringing real LiDAR mapping to a lower price point, something we found genuinely rare in this tier. It detects carpet while mopping and steers around it so rugs stay dry, and handles hardwood and everyday pet hair better than most robots we tested at this price. More than 26,000 reviews give it one of the largest trust bases we found in its class.
Read the 8 Best Robot Vacuums of 2026 guide →What earned iRobot the recognition
- Invented the consumer robot vacuum category with the original Roomba in 2002 and has sold more than 50 million robots worldwide since.
- AutoWash Dock and PrecisionVision AI, featured on our top pick, empty themselves and self-clean their mop pads for weeks at a stretch while reliably steering around cords, socks, and pet messes in our testing.
- Pushes real LiDAR mapping down into its lower-priced Combo models rather than reserving it for the flagship, something we found genuinely uncommon at that price point.
- Tens of thousands of verified reviews back the two models we tested, with unit-to-unit reliability being the most common caveat we noted rather than a dealbreaker.
- Established iRobot Safe, a dedicated subsidiary for U.S. consumer data governance, as part of its 2026 restructuring to keep continuity for existing owners.