Roborock’s Roomba competitor gets a robot arm

iRobot’s on-going financial crisis aside, the world of robot vacuums is still humming along. At CES Sunday, Roborock announced the Saros Z70. The Roomba competitor showcases what the company believes will be the next big step in robovac evolution: an arm.

The idea of mounting a a manipulator is no doubt as old as robot vacuums themselves. Robot arms have, however, proven too expensive and/or finicky for this level of mass production. Manufacturing costs and sensors have come down — though the product remains prohibitively expensive for most.

I will happily hold off judgement until I get a chance to spend some time with the system at home, but questions remain about the feature’s efficacy — and repairability.

The five-axis robot arm unfolds from the top of the vacuum. It can extend and twist, in a bid to remove obstacles from its path and pick up laundry items weighing less than 300 grams. The system is designed to make a standard vacuum-only pass at a floor, before circling back around to interact with objects as need. The arm sports an on-board camera and other sensors to orient itself in space

“The Roborock app will play a key role in how the OmniGrip operates,” the company says. “The OmniGrip will be disabled out of the box, and users need to activate it through the app, where they can choose different settings for its behavior. The app will let users decide what objects OmniGrip interacts with, the areas where they should be placed. For added peace of mind, the vacuum also includes a child-lock and safety stop button, allowing for immediate shutdown in any scenario.”

The S70 starts shipping February 10, for the low, low price of $1,600.