Chinese robot vacuum cleaner Roborock unveils AI-powered robotic arm

BEIJING — Chinese robot vacuum cleaner company Roborock unveiled a new model Monday that comes with a foldable arm to remove socks and other obstacles — a feature powered by artificial intelligence.

It’s the latest step in what Roborock president Quan Gang expects will be inevitable: robot vacuums becoming as important as washing machines.

That’s something that could happen in three years, especially with the advent of AI, Quan told CNBC in an interview in late November. “If the heyday of AI has really arrived, I am confident that robot vacuum cleaners will be the first category to apply AI,” he said in Mandarin, as translated by CNBC.

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

The Saros Z70 should be released in the first half of the year, but Roborock has yet to announce pricing. The product reveal comes ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show, which begins Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Since it is based in Massachusetts iRobot launched its Roomba floor vacuum robot in 2002circular machines have evolved to include cleaning and the ability to automatically return to the charging base. Many companies, including several based in China, now sell robot vacuum cleaners.

Beijing-based Roborock began selling in the U.S. in 2018, Quan said, noting that sales in the country didn’t start ramping up until 2023. Roborock also sells its robotic vacuum cleaners in countries such as Germany, China and South Korea, and makes sure to adhere to local data privacy rules, Quan said.

But robot vacuum penetration rates remain low — just over 10 percent in developed countries and single digits in developing countries, Quan said. He said this is both a challenge and a potential for growth, which he expects will be boosted by the integration of artificial intelligence.

The Verge and With cable late last year, both named various Roborock models as the best robot vacuums available. But the machines are not cheap.

“Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra ($1,799.99) is an outstanding vacuum,” said The Verge, noting that it’s “the top model in the relatively new category of hands-free robot vacuums, bots that do almost everything for you: vacuum their bins, fill their mop tanks and clean and dry their mop pads.”

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

Wired chose Roborock’s Qrevo S, which sells for $800 on Amazon. The review highlights Qrevo’s lidar-based navigation and AI functionality, which allow the machine to differentiate between carpets and tiles to vacuum or clean, respectively.

The competition is fierce. CNET said two other companies’ robotic vacuum cleaners are related the best of 2025The $900 Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo — which also has a self-emptying trash can — and the $359 iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus.