Robots are cool for many reasons. There’s the inherent sci-fi joy of having something autonomous and gadgety roaming around doing its own thing. And there are the benefits they can bring – especially when they are of the domestic robot variety. These benefits are so great that they can even make Becky Want interested in gadgets.

The Neato XV-15 is one of a number of robot vacuums on the market, with iRobot’s Roomba series being the most notable competition. Both come with their own charging stations (which the robot seeks out whenever it needs juice) and programmable timers, so that you can just plug in the charger somewhere out of the way (under a cupboard for example – both are very short), set the timer, and then forget about hoovering ever again…

OK, it’s not quite that simple. If it were, for £350-400 we would all have Neatos instead of Dysons. For a start, even the latest generations of domestic robot are not that smart, or that agile. A number of times I had to rescue the XV-15 from having got stuck somewhere having apparently run out of power before finding its way back to the charging station, or having got stuck on some object. This will happen a fair bit unless your house is always tidy. With a two year old in the house that is a tall order.

I could have set the robot to clean at night after we’d all gone to bed, just making sure I picked up any major obstacles before I went. But this presents a second problem: the Neato is pretty loud. It’s not as loud as an upright vacuum but you probably wouldn’t want it running around a flat or small house while you were trying to sleep.

The major selling points of the Neato are increased power over the competition, a larger bin, and laser mapping technology. Unfortunately the last one clearly doesn’t help it avoid the smaller obstacles, and I’m afraid I didn’t find the first that impressive. The Neato didn’t seem to collect any more dirt than other robots I’ve tried, even missing some fairly chunky biscuit crumbs laid in its path.

But, there’s no doubting that if I had it set up and running on a regular schedule my house would be a lot cleaner than it is otherwise – a fact of which I am acutely aware having just discovered the horrors under the sofa while spring cleaning. The Neato could have cleaned under here happily, and done so two or three times a week, not once a year.

For that reason I would be happy to overcome any minor issues and keep a little domestic robot vacuum running year round. The only question is whether it would be a Neato or one of the competitors, and I’m still undecided on that front. Watch this space…