Automatic Litterbox Central

My s/o went ballistic after our last vacation- throwing all cat related items out including the cats. However the cats were quickly back inside (and both cats have claws). Now we are starting from scratch. I hate littermaid. My uncle, who has four cats, loves the litter-robot. We have started looking at it. I bought two littermaids that broke the day of the warranty ending- so in my mind that is half the cost of the litter-robot. But what I have read concerns me. We have family coming to stay next month. We also live in a condo building as opposed to a house. Controlling the kitty odor is a primary concern.