I'm thinking of getting an automated kitty litter box. I'd like advice on good brands. I tried a litter maid once and I recall having issues (I think litter got into the engine/mechanism that caused it not to work very well). A friend of mine has a litter robot that she likes and recommends. I'm also concerned if I invest in something, ideally I would like as little maintenance required on my part (if I have to do a lot of work to keep it going, I may as well just save my money and put my work into manually cleaning out my litter boxes often).

What do you advise? What automated litter box do you like? What type of maintenance does it require? How often do you have to clean it out?