The leading corporation in the domestic robot vacuum market, the Chinese company Roborock, has taken steps to solidify its market leadership by introducing a robot vacuum equipped with the industry's first "five-axis folding robotic arm." This development, starting with a robotic arm integrated with an artificial intelligence (AI) system, presents a vision for evolving into a "fully automated" AI cleaning robot that minimizes human intervention.
On the 17th, Roborock opened a popup store for its new product "Saros Z70" at the Shinsegae Department Store in Gangnam, Seocho District, and held a product demonstration event. While existing robot vacuums only avoided obstacles such as socks or slippers on the floor, the new product continues cleaning after organizing the obstacles. For example, slippers are moved to the entrance, and socks are relocated to the laundry basket.
The key technology of the new product, the five-axis robotic arm "OmniGrip," is an intelligent system that combines dual cameras, precision sensors, and AI algorithms. When the front camera of the robot vacuum detects an object while traveling, the camera at the end of the robotic arm precisely identifies it and can lift objects weighing up to 300 grams. It is designed to seamlessly move various shapes of objects by blending mechanical flexibility with AI judgment.
During the demonstration event, it took about one minute for the robot vacuum to detect a slipper on the floor, extend its robotic arm, and move it to the entrance about 1 meter away. When the robot vacuum first detects an object on the floor, it is marked as "an object that can be picked up" on the app's map. After moving the object to the designated area set by the user, it begins dust suction and mopping, and once cleaning is completed, it re-cleans the area that was previously obstructed by the object, eliminating blind spots.
The robot vacuum can identify 108 pre-trained objects and can learn up to 50 additional new objects based on user settings using AI. There is also a safety mechanism that activates immediately if an unexpected object gets caught in the gripper. A representative from Roborock noted, "Thorough research and development (R&D) and innovative engineering were conducted to integrate the robotic arm into the thinnest height of 7.89 cm among Roborock robot vacuums."
The dust suction power of the robot vacuum is 22,000 Pa (Pascal), easily sucking up even small foreign substances on carpets, making it one of the highest levels in the country. It also features a lift system that can overcome thresholds of up to 4 cm in height and an independent body adjustment function that can navigate complex terrains. The addition of 80-degree hot water mop cleaning, automatic drying, and a pet location finding function enhances its capabilities as an "AI household helper." The price is 2.19 million won, making it the most expensive among Roborock's robot vacuums.
A representative from Roborock said, "This new product is a first step that demonstrates the potential of an 'AI butler' robot that goes beyond cleaning to organize items." They added, "We will continue to introduce leading technologies in the Korean market, expanding our customer touchpoints with a diverse portfolio of home appliances beyond just robot vacuums."
Roborock has maintained its leading position in the Korean market, often referred to as the "graveyard of foreign electronics," by generating 241.4 billion won in sales last year. Having officially entered the Korean market in 2020, Roborock reached the top of the robot vacuum market share just two years after its entry, leveraging integrated mopping and AI navigation mapping technologies that Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics adopted late.