The Chinese robotic vacuum cleaner Roborock unveils an artificial intelligence-powered robotic arm

Embargoed until 1 a.m. San Francisco time, Monday, January 6 / 9 a.m. PT, Sunday, January 5, 2025

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

It's the latest step toward what Roborock's president, Quan Gang, predicts is inevitable: that robot vacuum cleaners will become as necessary as washing machines.

This is something that could happen within three years, especially with the advent of artificial intelligence, Cowan told CNBC in an interview in late November. “If the era of artificial intelligence prosperity has truly arrived, I am confident that robotic vacuum cleaners will be the first category to apply artificial intelligence,” he said in Chinese, translated by CNBC.

Using artificial intelligence developed by the company, the Roborock Saros Z70 can detect and remove obstacles such as socks, small towels, tissues and sandals that weigh less than 300 grams (10.58 ounces), according to the company.

The Saros Z70 is scheduled to launch in major global markets in the first half of the year, but Roborock has not yet announced pricing. The unveiling of the product comes ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Since it was based in Massachusetts Any robot It launched the Roomba floor vacuuming device Robot in 2002Circular machines have evolved to include scanning and the ability to automatically return to the charging base. Many companies, including several based in China, now sell robotic vacuum cleaners.

Beijing-based Roborock began selling to the United States in 2018, Quan said, noting that sales in the country did not begin to rise until 2023. Roborock also sells its robotic vacuum cleaners in countries such as Germany, China and South Korea, and manufactures It is imperative to comply with local data privacy rules.

But robot penetration rates are still low — just over 10% in developed countries, and single digits in developing countries, Cowan says. This represents a challenge and potential for growth, he said, and he expects to get a boost from AI integration.

Edge and Wired Late last year, they 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 exceptional vacuum,” The Verge said, noting that it's “the best model in the relatively new category of hands-free robots, robots that do almost everything for you: vacuum Its own robot. bins, refill the mop tanks, and clean and dry their mop pads.”

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

Wired picked up Roborock's Qrevo S, which retails for $800 on Amazon. The review highlighted Qrevo's lidar-based navigation and AI feature that enables the machine to differentiate between carpets and tiles for vacuuming or mopping respectively.

Competition is fierce. CNET said robotic vacuum cleaners from two other companies were linked Best of 2025The $900 Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo — which also has a self-emptying trash can — and the $359 iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus.