By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy , a smart home reporter who’s been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a contributor to Wirecutter, Wired

This robovac has an arm — and legs, too

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2025-01-09 07:00:03

By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy , a smart home reporter who’s been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a contributor to Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, and US News.

I’ll see your arm and raise you an arm and two legs. It was the battle of the bots on the CES show floor as robot vacuum manufacturers Dreame and Roborock each added limbs to their rival robovacs.

Dreame launched its X50 Ultra at the show earlier this week, debuting the first robovac that can use its legs to navigate steps and room transitions up to 6cm high. But elsewhere at the show, competitor Roborock was showing off its latest flagship, the Saros Z70, which has an arm that can pick up items like socks.

Not to be outdone, Dreame then showed off a soon-to-be-released model at its CES booth, combining those two step-climbing legs with a robotic arm of its own.

Dreame’s model has a chunkier-looking arm than the Roborock’s, and it says it can pick up items up to 500 grams, whereas Roborock’s can only tackle items up to 300 grams. Dreame says its arm can pick up sneakers as large as men’s size 42 (a size 9 in the US) and take them to a designated spot in your home. The concept could apply to small toys and other items, and you’ll be able to designate specific areas for the robot to take certain items, such as toys to the playroom and shoes to the front door.