Chinese Tech Company Debuts Robot Vacuum with Integrated AI Arm

Chinese robot vacuum cleaner maker Roborock on Monday unveiled a new model with a foldable arm that uses artificial intelligence-based features to clear obstacles like socks.

It’s the latest step toward a future Roborock president Quan Gang sees as inevitable: robot vacuums becoming as important as washing machines.

That could happen as soon as three years, especially with the advent of artificial intelligence, Quan said in an interview with CNBC in late November. “If the era of AI flourishing has really arrived, I’m confident that robot vacuum cleaners will be the first category to apply AI,” he said in Chinese, translated by CNBC.

The company said the Roborock Saros Z70 uses AI it developed to detect and clear obstacles weighing less than 300 grams, such as socks, small towels, tissues and sandals.

The Saros Z70 will be available in major markets around the world in the first half of this year, but Roborock has not yet announced pricing. The product announcement comes ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show, which starts in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

launched its canister vacuum robot, the Roomba, in 2002. The circular machine has evolved to include mopping capabilities and the ability to automatically return to its charging station. Many companies now sell robot vacuums, including those based in China.

Beijing-based Roborock began selling in the U.S. in 2018, but sales in the country won’t take off until 2023, Quan said. Roborock also sells its robot vacuums in countries such as Germany, China and South Korea, ensuring that local data protection regulations are followed, Quan said.

But adoption of robot vacuums remains low, at just over 10 percent in developed countries and in the single digits in developing countries, Quan said. This is both a challenge and an opportunity for growth, he said, and he hopes the integration of artificial intelligence will drive growth.

Late last year, The Verge and Wired named various Roborock models the best robot vacuums on the market. However, the devices aren’t cheap.

“Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra ($1,799.99) is an exceptional vacuum cleaner,” The Verge said, noting it is “the best model in the relatively new category of ‘hands-free’ robot vacs, bots that do virtually everything for you: empty their bins, refill their mop tanks, and clean and dry their mop pads.”

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

Wired’s pick is Roborock’s Qrevo S, which sells for $800 on Amazon. The review highlights the Qrevo’s LIDAR-based navigation and AI capabilities, which enable the machine to distinguish between carpet and tile when vacuuming and mopping, respectively.

The competition is fierce. According to CNET, the other two companies sharing the 2025 spot are the $900 Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo (which also has an auto-emptying bin) and the $359 iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus.

Supporting an AI research lab

Shanghai-listed Roborock shares closed 2.6% higher on Friday after reports about the Saros Z70 and its robotic arm. They rose 10.3% in 2024.

Operating revenue rose 23.2% to 7 billion yuan ($960 million) in the third quarter of 2024, and profit was 1.47 billion yuan. Roborock does not break down its revenue by region.

Quan said the company realized the importance of artificial intelligence soon after it was founded in July 2014, and set up its own lab in Shanghai and another in Shenzhen. Quan said each site has about 30 researchers who only need to focus on technology, unlike product development teams that have to meet deadlines and monitor revenue.

The next challenge is to increase the number of researchers to about 300, Quan said, noting that finding the right people is difficult.

According to public figures obtained by CNBC, the company spent 9.1% of its operating revenue on research and development in the first three quarters of 2024. That’s up from just over 7% in each of the previous three years, according to the data.

Roborock also announced an update to its washing machine on Monday, now allowing it to dry clothes in the same unit.