Looking a little like the Mars rover, but made for your home, Roborock’s latest vacuum aims to reach out and clear obstacles.
Robotic vacuums can feel a little a dime-a-dozen these days, thanks to just how many there are. What’s more, they all tend to look the same: little circular robots that navigate your home using cameras and sensors, brushing dust and debris into a path and sucking it up.
It can all be a little same-same, but over at CES 2025, we’re seeing some things could be changing.
Roborock has announced a different take on the robo-vac, announcing the Saros Z70, a take on the robotic vacuums that comes with a helping hand, or more specifically an arm.
Upon first glance, the new vacuum looks a lot like everything else out there: a circular robots vacuum that will roam the house automatically and suck up the bits you don’t need.
However, up top it holds a secret: a fold-up arm that can deploy itself to remove obstructions and vacuum isn’t normally designed to deal with.
It looks a little like a robot on Mars, with an arm used to move things out of the way. Socks, small towels, tissue paper, and even light saddles and thongs under 300 grams, the special “OmniGrip” arm can pick up objects in the way of the vacuum and move them so it can keep working.
Helping this is a 3D time-of-flight sensor and camera system working with AI to understand the environment and obstacles, plus a navigation system designed to retract inwards to allow it to pass under more furniture, slimming itself to 7.98cm in the process.
The vacuum also offers mopping technology and it won’t be the only one, with two other Saros models on the way, plus wet-dry vacuum cleaners in the Zeo series. However, the star of the show is clearly that robotic arm in the Saros Z70, which aims to clear out small objects and let the vacuum finish a clean.
Unfortunately, there’s no word yet on pricing in Australia for any of Roborock’s 2025 vacuums, but the company notes that Australian availability will be announced soon.
