Your dirty underwear is no match for this arm-equipped robot vacuum
A new innovation in ludicrous lazy tech emerges!
We’re taking a step closer to Wall-E levels of robo-enabled laziness in 2025, if the big CES 2025 tech showcase is anything to go by.
Just revealed at the annual Las Vegas technology conference is the Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum cleaner. The once space-aged idea of a don’t-lift-a-finger robot cleaner has been common place for many years now, but we’re taking one step closer to the inevitable robo-apocalypse with this one — it’s got an arm, and it’s not afraid to use it.
Though sensors and cameras are traditionally used for obstacle avoidance in robot vacuum cleaners (and the Roborock Saros Z70 will make use of them too), that’s not much good if your robo butler is too scared to go anywhere near the obstacle, let alone clean underneath it, for fear of getting its motors and cleaning bars tangled.
The Saros Z70 fears no mismatched sock, no solid underpants, however — with its robotic arm, it can not only detect a lightweight obstacle, but move it out of the way and clean the spot it would otherwise have to avoid. It’s not quite smart enough to throw them in the washing machine but, hey — think twice before you wish for human obsolescence entirely.
Super cleaning specs
Looking more closely at the specs, the Roborock Saros Z70’s ‘OmniGrip’ arm works over a five axis range, strong enough to pick things up weighing 300g or less, and is attached to the vacuum’s slimline 7.98cm body. Its onboard computer can identify 108 different types of obstacles — and has been spared the pain of having an olfactory sensor, too.
As for its actual cleaning capabilities, they sound suitably top-notch. It’s got 22,000Pa of suction power, which makes it one of the most powerful robot vacuum cleaners out there, has an anti tangle system (which we’re assuming it’ll never need, if that arm works), and even a spinning mop system for cleaning sticky patches.
The Saros Z70 retreats back to the Multifunctional Dock 4.0 when it’s completed its rounds, where it automatically recharges its battery, auto-empties its dust tanks, and cleans its mop and water components. It gets back to work after a 2.5 hour charge, the poor little thing.
Expect a launch in the first half of 2025, but no pricing has been announced yet. Roborock’s top-tier models can sell for as much as $1,600 — around £1,300 — so expect a price tag north of that.
Latest
Related Reviews and Shortlists
