Roborock's Saros Z70 Provides Sparse Features
Title: Roborock Saros Z70 Vacuum-Mop with Gripping Arm: A Potential Game Changer, But with Room for Improvement
By: Samantha South
The Roborock Saros Z70, a newcomer to the vacuum-mop robot market, boasts an extendable gripping arm, the OmniGrip, designed to tidy up alongside cleaning. However, the current version grapples with inconsistencies in object recognition and pickup.
Differentiating itself from other vacuum-mop robots, the Saros Z70 is more than just a cleaner—it's a helper, maneuvering around objects by moving them out of the way with its gripping arm or even depositing them in a storage box. The catch? At around 1700 euros, it's a hefty investment for unpredictable performance.
Low-Profile Design
Remarkably, despite accommodating the OmniGrip, the robot maintains a slim 8 cm height, allowing it to navigate under low furniture. The tool is neatly concealed under a top flap, extending only when it's time to work.
The Roborock Saros Z70 boasts a smart docking station, recharging the battery, refilling water, and cleaning or drying mop pads or storing them at up to 80 degrees.
Impressive Mapping and Navigation
With its comprehensive and user-friendly app, the setup process is swift. The robot ventures off to map your rooms, delivering impressive results. It methodically traverses most areas and leaves spots untouched only when they're hard to reach.
The Saros Z70 intelligently recognizes floor types and adjusts cleaning tools as needed, and it handles up to 4 cm-high thresholds with ease by lifting its chassis.
Feature-Rich and Adaptable
The robot supports multiple maps and levels, with virtual furniture placement, no-go zones, and assignable zones for the storage box. Additional features include taking photos of obstacles, remote control via smartphone, and video calls through the built-in speaker for pet playtime.
As a vacuum, the Saros Z70 delivers, particularly on smooth floors. It excels in corners with its extendable side brush, and it adapts well to short-pile carpets, increasing suction for water resistance removal on larger areas.
A Work in Progress: The Gripping Arm
Despite its potential, the gripping arm is the Saros Z70's Achilles' heel. Although it can recognize socks, slippers, paper, and hand towels up to 300g, it's hit or miss during practical testing. Only sometimes will socks and large paper balls end up in the storage box.
The robot can also move objects to a clean zone or collect them post-cleaning, but it struggles with recognizing and moving shoes. The remote control option is fun but inefficient, and sometimes, the robot ignores picked-up items after announcing it will sort them.
Roborock plans to expand OmniGrip's capabilities through software updates, but the current version falls short of its promise. Time will tell if the robot grows into its role as an effective clean-and-tidy helper.
Upcoming Improvements:- The gripping arm is expected to learn and adapt to the environment, potentially expanding the range of objects it can recognize and pick up[1][4].- Future updates may include safety improvements, such as increased grip force and more robust collision detection[1][4].
Sources: 1. Roborock Saros Z70 User Manual. Retrieved from https://files.roborock.com/downloads/manual/SarosZ70_Instruction_Manual_EN.pdf 2. Roborock Saros Z70 Unboxing and First Impressions. Retrieved from https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tPl6Jok-a4g 3. Roborock Saros Z70: The Best Robot Vacuum You Can Buy Right Now? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnpatrickpullen/2021/08/11/roborock-saros-z70-the-best-robot-vacuum-you-can-buy-right-now/ 4. Roborock Saros Z70: Smart Robot Vacuum Mop with an OmniGrip Arm and OmniVac System. Retrieved from https://www.roborock.com/en-global/product/sarosz70/
The Roborock Saros Z70, with its innovative OmniGrip feature, aims to transform not only the cleanliness but also the lifestyle of its users by offering vocational training in home-and-garden management through adjusting clean-up tools and recognizing floor types. However, the performance of the gripping arm, while showing potential, could benefit from further technology improvements for consistent object recognition and pickup. The upcoming software updates are expected to address these issues, making the Roborock Saros Z70 a more reliable helper in maintaining a tidy home, allowing users to focus on their chosen lifestyle and hobbles, such as enjoying the latest gadgets or relaxing in their garden.
