The LG Hom Bot 3.0 comes with features never before seen in robot vacuums such as an on-board camera and optical sensor for navigation.
There’s also a turbo function to remove more stubborn dirt and a voice feature that tells you what exactly it’s doing plus more you just have to read the rest below.
All of these features though will set you back $550, more expensive than market leaders Neato and iRobot.
While the features will wow you, how does it perform in the more important task cleaning?
Well CNet says it isn’t up to par with the other two brands I’ve just mentioned saying that while it has all the bells and whistles, removing dirt is less than satisfactory.
Pros
- Has on board camera that lets it know where it is and an optical sensor beneath to know what are needs to be cleaned
- Two side brushes extends reach
- Turbo function increases suction to clean stubborn dirtturned on when the robot goes over carpet or rugs
- 7 custom cleaning modes
- HEPA filtration
- Easy to empty
Cons
- More expensive than the Roomba and Neato
- Doesn’t clean pet hair as well as a Neato on mid pile carpet, it does however pick up more than an iRobot
- Some issues with navigation
- Even though it has a scheduling feature you cannot schedule it on different times for different days, it only can be scheduled the same time each day
- Smallish dirt bin
- Doesn’t have any virtual walls or containment feature that you can use to block off restricted areas
What to expect from the LG Hom Bot 3.0?
It has 7 cleaning modes
- Zigzag mode which is the default – it goes in a straight back and forth motion around a room (great if there are a few obstacles).
- Cell by Cell mode – this mode divides a room into a grid or cells with the robot cleaning each cell in a back and forth in a zigzag motion.
- Repeat mode – using this tells the robot to keep on cleaning until you shut it off.
- Turbo mode – increases suction to remove more stubborn dirt (this turns on automatically on carpet)
- My space mode – which is my favourite because it allows you to manual steer the robot around obstacles and what’s great about this is that the Hom Bot remembers it and will use the same route next time you turn it on
- Spot mode – it cleans a small area in a spiral motion
- Manual mode
See all the cleaning modes in action
Other features include
- Two corner brushes that’s 2-3/4” long
- Has dual “eyes” – a camera on top and an optical sensor at the bottom for navigation
- Quiet – only emits 50 decibels
- It remembers the optimal cleaning path in every room of your home
- Scheduled cleaning
- Comes with a HEPA filter
- Automatically re-docks after it finishes or if it needs to recharge
Complete specs can be found here.
Navigation
This is the first robot I’ve seen that uses a camera for navigation. Without sounding too technical the camera and optical sensor maps out a snap shot of your room that work together to let the robot know where exactly it is and what areas needs to be cleaned.
This feature also allows it to remember the optimum cleaning routes around your room allowing this to do its job faster.
Remember to remove obstacles that get in the way like wires, toys, rugs, etc. because this will easily get stuck and it has a low clearance.
Will it clean stairs?
Nope. None of the robot vacuums does.
Scheduled cleaning
It can be scheduled to clean but the editors at CNet pointed out that it cannot be scheduled different times for different days so this is bummer.
Charging time
LG says that it’ll fully charge in 2 hours.
Filter clean up
Dirt cup and HEPA filter is located in the middle and can be accessed by popping open the lid. A great feature here is the handle on the bin that makes it easy to remove.
In the package, there is a brush that you can use to clean the filter.
Since it is a HEPA filter I’m not sure if you can wash it, it wasn’t specified in the LG’s website or in Amazon so to be on the safe side don’t wash just clean it with the brush and replace it every 2 to 3 months.
Run Time
LG claims that this robot has a 100-minute run time, Trusted Reviews however disagrees saying that it ran around an hour in their test.
Customer service and warranty
There were few complaints about subpar customer service. One consumer did complain about the features that weren’t there. One was expecting a mop pad that wasn’t there in the package.
LG gives a 2 year warranty on the unit and 6 months on the battery.
Bare floor cleaning
In a test done by CNET it held its own picking up long grain rice on hard floors.
It however struggled a bit in the sand/saw dust test picking up slightly less than it did with the rice.
Carpet cleaning
It didn’t fare as well on carpet, especially plush carpet.
Again referencing the test done by CNet, it picked up significantly less sawdust/sand on medium and low pile carpet versus the Neato XV Pro but it held its own against the Roomba 790.
Editors in Trusted Reviews mentioned that this will indeed struggle on thick carpet not because of weak suction on the contrary they said the strong suction combined with the low clearance caused bleaching on thick carpet.
Rugs
It has a low clearance if your home has thick rugs, get them out of the way.
Pet hair removal
In CNet’s tests, it did a decent job cleaning pet hair of hard floors and medium pile carpet almost at par with the Roomba 790.
But not as good as the Neato XV, strangely though it didn’t do as well on low pile carpet.
See it in action
Testing the functionality
Watch the CNet Review here
Product Specifications
| Battery type | Lithium Ion |
| Charger type | Charging Station |
| Charge time | 2 hours |
Run Time  | 100 minutes |
| Net weight (with battery) | 6.6 pounds |
| Shipping weight | 11.6 pounds |
| Dimensions (Width and Height) | 14-1/10" x 3-1/2" |
| Multi Room |  |
| Self docking | |
| Remote control | |
| Hepa filtration | |
| Cliff detection | |
| Self adjusting |  |
| Side brush | |
| Full bin indicator | |
| Stair Cleaning | |
| Cleaning sessions per week | 7 |
| Extra Filter | |
| Containment | |
| Brush cleaning tools | |
| Accessories included | Side Brush Set Filter Carpet Brush |
| Voltage | 110 volts |
| Manufactured in | China |
| Warranty | 2 years on robot 6 months on battery |
Customer Reviews
Being an $800 robot vac, not a lot of people bought this product thus there were only a handful of reviews.
In those reviews consumers both who left positive and negative reviews mention that it had a tendency to get stuck.
And sometimes even without any obstacle in front of it so there is a bit of babysitting needed.
Well LG did mention in the manual that you need to remove potential obstacles on the floor like wires and rugs just to give you a heads up.
One thing that impressed a number of people here was the ability to learn and remember the layout of the room which is good and bad. This is good because it’ll know which obstacles to avoid. And bad because if you move anything it’ll think that the obstacle is there and will bump into it.
Another issue here mentioned in reviews is its shape, it has a tendency to scrape baseboards and/or furniture when it turns.
In terms of cleaning performance, it did well and most consumers use this on hard floors. Some use this on carpet and were pretty happy with the results.
There were some reported issues though on it not being able to return to the charging base on its own and not going under certain furniture.
Overall, consumers were happy with the navigation, suction and cleaning modes, particularly the “my space mode” that allows you to record the cleaning pattern.
Reviews from other sites
Trusted Reviews
They claimed this to be the best robot vacuum they’ve tested saying it was better than the more established Neato and iRobot.
CNet
While they liked all the features that this robot had, the high price and the subpar cleaning on carpet are the biggest reasons why they wouldn’t recommend this vacuum over a Neato.
Where can I buy this?
You can buy this in Amazon however currently this is out of stock. A newer version is available and now with WiFi connectivity and it will cost around $550.
This newer version will be eligible to their free 2-day shipping if you join Prime.
Extended warranties are also available of up to 3 years if you want that extra peace of mind.
Conclusion
This robot is great for folks with medium to large homes having mostly hard surfaces as this wouldn’t perform as well on thick carpet based on tests.
Remember that this isn’t completely hands free as you would need to babysit it at times when it gets stuck. As with all robots vacuums, prepping the area is key to a seamless operation.
Feature wise it has almost everything you want on an autonomous cleaner.
My favorite is the ability to “teach” it what route to take. It has two side brushes, a motorized brush and an easy to empty bin.
Unfortunately it is way too expensive for my taste given its limitations, I’d get the Roomba 780 or the Neato XV Pro over this. But this
