Chinese robot vacuum cleaner Roborock features an AI-powered robotic arm

BEIJING – Chinese robot vacuum cleaner company Roborock unveiled a new model on Monday that comes with a folding arm for removing socks and other obstacles – a feature powered by artificial intelligence.

It's the latest step towards what Roborock President Quan Gang predicts will be inevitable: that robot vacuum cleaners will be just as essential as washing machines.

That's something that could happen in three years, especially when AI emerges, Quan told CNBC in an interview in late November. “If the AI ​​boom time has really arrived, I am confident that the first sector to apply AI will be robot cleaners,” he said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.

Using AI developed by the company, the Roborock Saros Z70 can detect and remove obstacles such as socks, towels, cloths and sandals weighing less than 300 grams (10.58 ounces), according to its ' company.

The Saros Z70 is expected to be released in major global markets in the first half of the year, but Roborock has yet to announce pricing. The product appears ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show which starts on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Ever since based in Massachusetts iRobot he launched his Roomba floor vacuum Robot in 2002the round tools have evolved to include mopping and the ability to automatically return to the charge base. Many companies, including several based in China, now sell robot vacuum cleaners.

Beijing-based Roborock began selling to the US in 2018, Quan said, noting that sales in the country did not begin until 2023. Roborock also sells the robot vacuums has operations in countries such as Germany, China and South Korea, and ensures compliance with local data privacy regulations, Quan said.

But robot penetration rates are still low — just over 10% in developed countries and single digits in developing countries, Quan said. He said that is both a challenge and an opportunity for growth, which he expects will be boosted by the integration of artificial intelligence.

The Sea and Wire late last year the duo named various Roborock models as the best robot vacuum cleaner available. But the tools are not cheap.

“Roborock's S8 MaxV Ultra ($1,799.99) is a fantastic vacuum cleaner,” The Verge said, noting that it's “the best model in the relatively new category of 'hands-free' robot balls, bots will do almost everything for you: empty their bins, fill their mop tanks, and clean and dry their mop pads.”

“Roborock invented this category with the S7 MaxV Ultra and has been constantly improving it,” said The Verge.

Wired chose Roborock's Qrevo S, which sells for $800 on Amazon. The review highlighted Qrevo's lidar and AI-based navigation feature that allows the device to differentiate between carpets and tiles for vacuuming or mopping, respectively.

Competition is fierce. CNET reported that two other companies' robot cleaners were connected best of 2025the $900 Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo — which has a self-emptying trash can — and the $359 iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus.