“I-slave-away-over-a-hot-CPU-all-day-and-this-is-how-you-thank-me?”
If you have one of those robot vacuums, you might have thought that it’s great that it vacuums the floor and any errant ricin cigarettes you have lying around, but wouldn’t it be really great if it could clean up larger objects you leave on the ground? Well, Roborock has the answer to that at this year’s CES.
The Roborock Saros Z70 replaces their previous flagship S8 MaxV Pro Ultra, And at first, it looks little different from its predecessor. That is, until it deploys its robotic arm. Called the OmniGrip, it allows the Z70 to pick up and move small, non-vacuumable objects out of the way when they would have previously presented an impasse. The Z70 also debuts the company’s new StarSight Autonomous System 2.0, which allows for better navigation and mapping, but that’s not as interesting as a robot arm on your vacuum, now is it?
The OmniGrip folds away and rests on the top of the Z70. When it’s necessary, it unfolds, with the arm offering five axis motion. It comes equipped with precision sensors, a camera, and an LED light.
The OmniGrip is capable of lifting up to 300 grams (a little over half a pound), allowing it to move objects that would otherwise interrupt its cleaning, like tissues, socks, or towels. It performs its regular duties first, logging these obstructions, and then goes back to clear the areas it missed. While this may not be the fastest or most efficient method of doing things, it beats having to do it yourself, right?
Notably, this feature is not engaged by default; you have to turn it on in the app. Through the app, you can specify which objects the robot is allowed to interact with, and where to place them after pickup. It also has safety features; a child lock, and a stop button to disable the arm when necessary.
As noted above, the Saros Z70 also comes with new software. The StarSight Autonomous System 2.0 uses a traditional LDS (Laser Distance Sensor) tower module for navigation, as well as new dual-light 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors and RGB cameras. The whole shebang is “empowered by AI”, which helps it identify up to 108 obstacles, such as socks, toys and the like.
The Z70 features 22,000 Pa of suction, putting it in the upper circle of the industry. It also features, Roborock’s dual anti-tangle system, a free flow main brush, and a liftable FlexiArm Riser side brush meant to fight against hair tangling. It also features a mop for your hard surfaces.
The Saros Z70 is set to launch in the first half of 2025. Roborock also has two siblings to the Z70: the Saros 10 and Saros 10R. the 10R is designed to fit under low-clearance furniture, forgoing the retractable LDS module for a compact 3.14-inch design, available later this year. The Saros 10 features that same 22,000 Pa of suction of the Z70, as well as the retractable LDS, though like the 10R it lacks the robot arm. The Saros 10 launches this month.
Source: Forbes
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