CES 2025 is finally upon us, which means we'll see a bunch of cool new gadgets from the year's biggest consumer tech show. Roborock is kicking things off with a robot vacuum cleaner that brings even more robotics to the party: its foldable arm can extend out from the top of the machine and automatically pick items up off the floor.
The Saros Z70 will be able to grab discarded tissues, dirty socks, and other items you train it to pick up – provided they're under 0.66 lb (300 g) each. The device can then drop items off at a designated point, like a basket.
Roborock says this is the first-ever mass-produced foldable five-axis robotic arm around. The Z70 will first make a trip around your home to identify objects it can lift, using a camera and LED light in the arm. Next, it'll return to pick up those objects, move them to a previously cleaned area, and clean the obstructed spots. Finally, it'll go put those items away in a designated place.
The bot can recognize 108 objects out of the box, and you can train it to identify 50 more. Lifehacker notes that you'll therefore be able to ask the Z70 where misplaced item were last seen – like your child's sneaker.
The OmniGrip itself and the whole process of picking up and moving objects appears to be pretty slow at the moment – to the point that it seems like it'd be more practical for you to just pick up after yourself the usual way. However, it's a notable step forward in robotic capabilities on appliances like these. Roborock also says it could improve the OmniGrip after it's released with over-the-air updates.
Another big change with this model is that Roborock has swapped out its LiDAR navigation tech for AI-assisted cameras and a time-of-flight sensor. That should help improve accuracy while moving around your house thanks to better 3D mapping, along with a new Vertibeam lateral obstacle avoidance technology to get around items like power cables.
Roborock hasn't yet announced pricing for the Z70, but promises it'll launch in the first half of 2025. Given that the company's new Saros 10R and Saros 10 flagship vacuum cleaners will cost about US$1,600 each for better performance without robotic arms, I imagine the Z70 will be well north of that.
Product page: Saros Z70
