The iRobot folks re-engineered their floor vacuuming robot and produced a real winner. I've bought two Roomba robots previously, but each of them has had real problems with pet hair. The hair tended to wrap itself around rotating parts in the robot and clog the unit. Cleaning up the robot was more work than it was worth.
The new Roomba for Pets modifies all the old hair-prone components. The brushes now have extra protection from hair accumulating around the axles, and a new tool that makes extracting pet hair a breeze. The old unit had a front roller that detected rotation: when it clogged up the robot started behaving strangely because it got incorrect information about its location. The new front roller design is almost completely trouble-free.
My verdict: buy this model. I've used it in high dog hair environments with excellent results so far. It's been a real boon for me keeping the bedroom clean. Because the vacuum in a Roomba is much lower power than in a conventional vacuum, it doesn't stir up dust on the floor as it works. That's great for me, because airborne dust is a disaster for my head. Typically I'll have a full dust mask on when I use a manual vacuum; I can let a Roomba run in the room with me with no problem at all.
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