Roborock has added an arm to its latest flagship robot vacuum cleaner. And this isn't a little addendum like the one the company introduced on its S8 MaxV Ultra at CES last year; It is a real articulated robotic arm. The arm rises from the center of Roborock's latest flagship robot, the Saros Z70, and can extend to pick up items like socks and tissues while cleaning floors. While it's a bit scary and currently extremely slow, I can certainly see the potential of a robot vacuum cleaner that can clean before itself.
The edge I took a look at the Saros Z70 in action ahead of its launch at CES 2025 and can confirm that the arm works as advertised, although, as mentioned, it is laboriously slow. During our demonstration, it took about a minute to lift and move each sock as it went. It is also limited to socks, tissues, small towels and sandals weighing less than 300 grams. Roborock says more items will be added over time, but has not promised a higher weight capacity. No pricing has been released, but the company says the vacuum will ship in June 2025.
The Saros Z70 arm is “the first mass-produced five-axis folding robotic arm,” according to Roborock. Called OmniGrip, it can unfold, extend and rotate horizontally and vertically to pick up objects and move them out of the way. It includes a camera and an LED light on the arm to view objects and has sensors that allow it to detect the weight of an object and know its position, even if there is something on it, so that the arm does not hit anything when it is raised.
Roborock says that during your first cleaning, the Z70 will detect and flag any objects you might pick up. He then deploys his arm again, moving items to the area he has already cleared and clearing the areas those items were blocking. Finally, it can be scheduled to go out a third time to pick up the items and store them in a place you designate on the Roborock app's map, such as near a closet or in a basket.
Yes, this whole process will take a long time. Yes, it would be quicker (and quieter) to pick up the socks yourself (assuming you're at home). But it's also a robot that picks up your socks! We really live in the future.
One intriguing feature that Roborock says is coming to the Saros Z70 via an OTA update doesn't involve the arm. Instead, it takes advantage of the robot's new navigation and obstacle recognition, called StarSight 2.0 Autonomous Systemto allow you to train the robot to recognize specific objects, for example, your favorite teddy bear or your bag. According to Roborock, you'll be able to use its app to see where the robot last saw that item, which could be useful for locating lost things.
StarSight launched in Qrevo Slim and uses 3D time-of-flight sensors, RGB cameras and machine learning to navigate and identify obstacles. According to Roborock, ai-powered machine learning allows the Z70 to detect and navigate up to 108 pre-programmed objects. It also uses a new laser-powered obstacle avoidance technology called VertiBeam, which Roborock says can more precisely clean around extended cables and irregularly shaped walls and furniture.
Other features of the Saros Z70 include an impressive 22,000 Pa suction power, a dual anti-tangle system for the robot's rotating brushes, and dual rotating mops that can not only be raised 2.2 cm to avoid carpet, but also automatically detach in the base station when mopping cannot be done. There's no need.
The Saros Z70 is just under 8cm tall, which should allow it to get under those low sofas, and it has the AdaptLift chassis first seen on the Qrevo Curv. This helps the robot scale high room transitions and maneuver over high pile carpets.
The flagship robot combines with Roborock's new Multifunctional Dock 4.0 to automatically charge, empty, refill and drain its water tanks and maintain mops with hot water washing and hot air drying; This model also introduces a 2.5-hour quick charge function.
Realistically, as cool as the arm is, it's clearly more of a proof-of-concept product (although Roborock assures me it will ship this year). So, along with the Saros Z70, Roborock introduced two other flagship robot vacuum cleaners at CES. The Saros 10R and the Saros 10 will ship on February 10 and will cost $1,599.99 each. Both feature a similar streamlined body and the same AdaptLift chassis as the Z70, and both can automatically disconnect their mop pads when they're not needed.
The main differences between the two are in cleaning and navigation technology. The Saros 10R has the same StarSight 2.0 navigation and obstacle recognition technology, the same mopping technology and the same base as the Z70. However, it has a slightly lower suction power (19,000 Pa).
Instead, the Saros 10 is an update to Roborock's current flagship model, the S8 MaxV Ultra (our top pick for best robot vacuum). With 22,000 Pa of suction power, it uses lidar navigation found on most Roborocks, but can retract its lidar tower to fit into low spaces, bringing it to the same height as the other two Saros models.
Instead of the oscillating mops of the Z70 and 10R, the Saros 10 has a new version of Roborock's excellent VibraRise mopping feature. It uses a flat mopping pad that vibrates 4,000 times a minute to simulate scrubbing, and you can now soak dried stains before attempting to remove them.
The 10 also comes with an improved version of Roborock's reactive ai obstacle avoidance (version 3.0) and gets the new VertiBeam cable avoidance technology. It has Roborock's new DuoDivide anti-tangle brush roll, first seen on the Qrevo Curv, and is paired with the company's new Ultra 2.0 Dock.
Roborock says all three new models will be updated to support Matter 1.4, allowing the vacuums to work with any Matter-compatible smart home platform. It looks like Apple is offering support with iOS 18.3, and amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings already support robot vacuums through Matter. Out of the box, the robots are compatible with Alexa, Siri Shortcuts, Google Home, and Roborock's Hey Rocky voice assistant.
