The LG Hom-Bot Square is a robo-rival for Roomba (pictures)

You're looking at one of the newest versions of the LG Hom-Bot Square robotic vacuum (model number: VR6570LVM). It's a square-shaped Roomba competitor that finds its way around your house with the help of built-in cameras.

There are actually two cameras in the Hom-Bot -- one that keeps an eye on the floors and the immediate surroundings, and a second on top that stares up at the ceiling to help map out the overall shape of the room.

The cameras work fairly well in tandem. In general, the Hom-Bot does a very good job of detecting furniture and avoiding bumps.

The Hom-Bot uses a typical vacuum brushroll to suck up debris. There's also a dry-mopping, Swiffer-like attachment that you can clamp on to help sweep up dust and pet hair from flat surfaces like tile and hardwood.

The vacuum also features a pair of side-sweeping brushes to help it clean along walls and sweep debris underneath the brushroll.

To access the bin, just press this button on the top of the vacuum. It lifts right out for easy emptying.

We spent days testing the Hom-Bot Square to see how well it could pick up different kinds of debris on different kinds of surfaces.

The Hom-Bot was generally good at picking up rice, but it would miss spots on occasion.

The same was true of pet hair. Some clumps got missed, others ended up ground into the carpet.

Even more of it ended up tangled in the cleaner's brushroll, which seemed less successful at moving the stuff up and into the bin than other cleaners we've tested.

Our toughest test? 1.25 ounces of sand spread across each of our test floors in a thin layer.

Like with the rice, the Hom-Bot didn't do terribly, but it missed spots, which hurt its numbers.

This Hom-Bot Square model sells for $900, with other models selling for a little less. Similar models are available at various price points in Australia and the UK.