The new Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum adds a first-of-its-kind robotic arm that can pick up obstacles in its path, like socks and sandals, the company said as it demonstrated the bot at CES 2025. This marks a shift from traditional obstacle avoidance to active obstacle removal in robotic vacuums.
But the bot vac with robo-arm might come at a steep cost, as other new Roborock models with many of the same features — but without the robo-arm — will go for $1,600, the company said.
Roborock Saros Z70 robot vacuum with robo-arm
Many robot vacuum cleaners patrol a growing market for them, but some debuting at CES 2025 cover new ground. Now Roborock adds a robo-arm to pick up object rather than just go around them, among other cutting-edge features (and it looks like something out of the old Robot Wars TV show). And among others, Switchbot features a new mini robot vac integrated in a multitasking platform called K20+ Pro that also purifies air, manages home security and delivers small objects.
Roborock’s new Saros Z70 robot vacuum, an upgrade of a previous model, features the company’s OmniGrip system, the company noted in press materials. It’s a five-axis robotic arm that can fold into the vacuum’s slim 7.98 cm body. Equipped with precision sensors, a camera and LED lighting, the arm can detect and remove obstacles weighing up to 300 grams. That includes socks, tissues, small towels, sandals and perhaps small toys.
The cleaning process occurs in three stages:
- The vacuum maps the room and identifies movable objects
- It returns to remove these obstacles
- It cleans the previously blocked areas.
While this methodical approach may take longer than conventional cleaning, it addresses areas that were previously inaccessible to robot vacuums, the company said.
StarSight Autonomous System 2.0
For enhanced navigation and obstacle detection, the Saros Z70 employs Roborock’s new StarSight Autonomous System 2.0, which combines traditional laser distance sensor (LDS) technology with dual-light 3D time-of-flight sensors and RGB cameras. The system’s AI capabilities can identify up to 108 different types of obstacles, and future updates will allow users to train the robot to recognize specific items, potentially helping locate lost objects.
The vacuum boasts impressive technical specifications, including 22,000Pa of suction power — among the highest in the industry. It features a dual anti-tangle system, a FreeFlow main brush, and a liftable FlexiArm Riser side brush. The Saros Z70 also includes dual spinning mops that can automatically detach at the base station when not needed and lift 2.2cm to avoid carpets.
Safety features for a slow robo-arm
Some sources at CES described the arm’s operation as slow, taking about a minute to handle each object. But Roborock claims its capabilities have improved since early demonstrations and it continues to refine the technology.
Safety features include a child lock and emergency stop button, with the robotic arm disabled by default but easily activated through the Roborock app. Users can customize the arm’s interactions by specifying which objects it should handle and where they should be placed.
The Saros Z70 pairs with Roborock’s new Multifunctional Dock 4.0, which handles charging, auto-emptying, water tank management and mop maintenance with hot water washing and hot air drying. A new 2.5-hour fast-charge feature has been added to minimize downtime.
2 additional robot vacuum models (but without robo-arm)
Alongside the Z70, Roborock has announced two additional models: the Saros 10 and Saros 10R, both priced at $1,599.99 and scheduled for release February 10. These models share many features with the Z70 but without the robotic arm. All three models will support Matter 1.4, enabling integration with various smart home platforms including Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung SmartThings.
Roborock said it expects to launch the Saros Z70 launch in the first half of 2025, but the company provided no pricing details.
