With laser navigation systems and AI-supported cameras, high-quality vacuuming and mopping robots can already very confidently dodge small objects without getting stuck in them. Depending on the quality of the navigation system, they clean the floors as close as possible to the areas. But they have not been able to clean the spread socks, slippers and the spaces under the toys. They can make up for it only in another round of cleaning if human hands intervene and remove blockages.
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Roborock wants to make some of this human cleaning assistance redundant. The manufacturer of vacuum and mopping robots is equipping its new flagship model Saros Z70 with a gripper arm that can pick up objects weighing up to 300 grams and place them without disrupting the previously occupied area to be cleaned elsewhere. Can keep.
The device will celebrate its premiere at the CES 2025 technology show in Las Vegas and is likely to be one of the highlights of this year’s trade fair. This robot is expected to go on sale this year. The specific sales start and price have not been determined yet.
Robot arm grasped by OmniGrip
Robrock calls the gripper arm the OmniGrip. It is a foldable, five-axis robot arm that extends out of the cleaning robot’s housing when needed and disappears back into it again. Apart from up and down, the arm can also move left and right. The gripper arm automatically removes obstacles after prior permission. You should also be able to manually control it remotely.
The feature is activated in the manufacturer’s smartphone app. This allows you to specify what objects the hand can pick up and where it should draw them. Usually he just shakes them up a bit and places them in an area that has already been cleaned. If you want, you can also define a fixed storage location. The Saros Z70 then deposits the socks next to the laundry basket.
app with socks for laundry basket
In addition to socks, Roborock has programmed towels, handkerchiefs and sandals into the Gripper Arm software as items that can be put away. The manufacturer wants to teach the robot additional objects through firmware updates. The hand uses an integrated camera and other sensors to record what it is doing. You can recognize the environment, position and weight of objects. Roborock says that if a curious pet or small child suddenly appears and gets in the way of the robot’s arm during the grasping process, the device initiates an emergency stop.
The robot housing did not need to be mounted for the gripper arm shaft. It’s basically the same size as most circular vacuums and mopping robots. It’s slightly flattened at the top and, with a height of just under eight centimeters, fits under very flat furniture so you can clean there too.
This is possible because Roborock does not use the usual tower structure with laser sensors. Instead, there are laser sensors placed on the front and a camera, as well as a laser sensor on the side for way finding and collision avoidance.
If it is not needed, the gripper arm disappears completely into the housing of the Roborock Saros Z70. Its housing is no larger than other vacuum and mopping robots.
(Image: Image: Roborock)
Wheel lift takes cleaning robots up high stairs
Another original talent, the Saros Z70 has a liftable chassis. If necessary, motors in the chassis raise the robot’s three bottom wheels. This allows the vacuum and mopping robot to overcome door thresholds up to four centimeters high. This ability also helps it lift itself from the crossbars of tables or chairs if the wheels lose contact with the ground during crossing.
Unlike the OmniGrip gripper arm, the liftable chassis is not for the first time. The Saros Z70 adopts the feature of the Qerevo Curve model presented at IFA 2024. Roborock is equipping other Saros model variants shown at CES with wheel lifts. Saros 10 and Saros 10R may also rise. However, they do not offer a gripper arm.
Top Cleaning Tips on Board
When it comes to floor cleaning, the three variants of the Saros models offer practically all the common aspects of existing top cleaning robots. They vacuum and mop the floors, while brushes extended to the sides cover the corners. To avoid water getting on the carpets, the robots raise their mopping modules as they pass over them. The supplied base station stores the dirt in a large bag, rinses the mops with hot water and then blow-drys them.
Cleaning commands are given using RoboRock’s smartphone app and offline-enabled voice assistant Hello Rocky. The Saros Z70 and its variants also come with Cloud Chatterbox and apps for Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
A planned firmware update aims to complement the Matter smart home standard, which will allow new Roborock robots to be integrated into other systems as long as they connect home devices through Matter.
Heise Median is the Official Media Partner of CES 2025.
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