Measure 3.5 to 4 inches of furniture clearance, leave about 18 inches of open space for the dock, and expect a self-empty setup to add bag and filter upkeep. Those numbers change fast if your home has thick rugs, multiple thresholds, or lots of pet hair on the floor every day.
Run a robot vacuum once a day on open hard floors, or twice a day in kitchens and pet-heavy homes if the bin fills before the next scheduled pass. That schedule changes if the dock sits behind a door swing, cords stay on the floor, or the route crosses rugs with fringe.
Choose a robot vacuum with under-4-inch height, at least 90 minutes of runtime, and an auto-empty dock only if you have a permanent outlet and about a 16-by-16-inch floor spot to spare.
A robot vacuum makes sense for homeowners when the dock has about 2 feet of open space in front, 1 foot on each side, and the machine clears your main floor transitions without repeated lifting.