Robot Vacuums Are Now the Tiny Butlers of Your Dreams

List things that robot vacuum cleaner can do right now, continues to grow. They can create an accurate map of your home to avoid bumping into things. They can empty themselves and recharge themselves. They may crawl under your sofa to remove debris. Many of them have dual mopping and vacuuming functions, allowing you to mop up your dog’s dirty marks.

One thing that most robot vacuum cleaners I can’t do it at the moment it’s picking things up off the floor. Using a robot vacuum can save you a lot of time and energy, but it often requires spending 10 to 20 minutes frantically running around trying to disarm robot traps by moving or collecting cables, laces, and hair ties.

This year, Roborock won the race to release a commercial robot vacuum cleaner with an extendable arm that can pick up small objects in its path, thus becoming the robot butler of your dreams. The Roborock Saros Z70 has a retractable handle with gripping pliers, which the company calls Omnigrip. I screamed when I saw this.

Spin me right

In my tests, a robot vacuum cleaner is only as useful as its navigation system; All the suction power in the world won’t help you if she can’t get out from under the couch. I’ve found Roborock’s navigation systems to be pretty accurate all the time. The Saros Z70 uses a combination of sensors for navigation. There’s an array of 3D time-of-flight sensors to measure distances between objects, as well as AI-powered RGB cameras to detect obstacles and decide when to use the Omnigrip. (The arm remains folded and tucked into a small compartment on top of the vacuum cleaner when not in use.)

The Omnigrip has five separate axes so it can rotate both horizontally and vertically, delicately grasping objects with its tiny pliers. Right now, he can lift anything that weighs less than 300 grams or just under a pound, such as napkins, socks or even sandals.

To use Omnigrip, Roborock customers activate it through the app. As the Saros Z70 moves around your home, it identifies potential objects it might pick up while cleaning, then returns to pick them up and put them away when it’s done. In the app, you can select places in your home where Omnigrip should operate, how it should behave, and where it should place items it picks up.