Roborock's new flagship robot vacuum has an arm that can grab small objects
Robot vacuums can remove the dust and dirt on your floor, but you still have to pick up stray socks and and any item strewn about your home. Now Roborock, a Chinese company that manufactures robot vacuums and other household cleaning appliances, has unveiled a new model that can pick up small objects so you don't have to. The Roborock Saros Z70 has a foldable robotic arms that the company calls the "OmniGrip." It has five axis and can lift objects under 300 grams like socks, light sandals and small dog toys to put them away. <br /> <br /> <br /> Roborock's new robo vac can pick up your dirty socks. #CES2025 pic.twitter.com/6TumFV6OJD— Engadget (@engadget) January 6, 2025<br /> <br /> <br /> Apparently, the AI-powered vacuum marks objects it can lift while going about cleaning the floor and then circles back to pick them up when it's done. It then cleans the areas underneath the objects during its second pass. The OmniGrip uses its equipped precision sensors, camera and LED light to determine its position and whether an item is too heavy to pick up. <br /> Engadget got a brief demo of the arm in action during CES 2025, and the Saros Z70 was able to lift up socks and place them in a basket. The unit we saw was a pre-production model that was running on a pre-programmed route in a hotel suite, so the vacuum may perform differently inside an actual home. A Roborock rep said the vacuum that goes on sale will be able to automatically recognize 108 different objects, with the option to add up to 50 custom objects. <br /> Before you can use it, you will have to activate the arm through the Roborock app, where you can also set what kind of objects it can interact with and where they should be placed. While not quite Rosey the Robot, Saros Z70 has the potential to make tidying up a lot easier. And it's not just a prototype — Roborock is planning to make it available for purchase this year. <br /> In addition to Saros 270, Roborock has also launched two more robot vacuums, a lineup of handheld wetdry vacuum cleaners, as well as three all-in-one washer-dryers. It will be showcasing its home cleaning products at CES this year. <br /> <br /> <br /> Update January 6, 2025, 2:25 PM PT: This post has been updated to add additional photos, video and impressions from a demo at CES. <br /> Additional reporting by Karissa Bell.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/roborocks-new-flagship-robot-vacuum-has-an-arm-that-can-grab-small-objects-170020390.html?src=rss