Doesn’t it just look like it’s ready to pounce on your dirty messes and vacuum them up, and then maybe up and onto your legs to cover you with affection when you come home? Roborock, one of the Roomba’s major competitors, announced the Saros Rover.
There’s no price yet, but this is a real-deal product you’ll soon be able to buy. For homes with stairs, moldings on the floors of door thresholds, and (I imagine) small obstacles left on the carpet, the little bipedal vac can cover a lot more floor space without hiccups than a legless, wheel-only robo-vac.
these bots are made for walking
“Each wheel-leg provides reach, lift, height, and imitates human mobility, enabling the robot to raise and lower each one of the wheel-legs independently, execute small jumps, agile turns, sudden stops, and directional changes, all while maintaining a level body as the ground changes,” said Roborock in the Saros Rover’s unveiling.
Roborock says the legs mean the Saros Rover can not only traverse staircases but also vacuum the steps as it goes. Curved staircases, too. You hear that, M.C. Escher? Your wackadoo houses will no longer confound the robotic future.
More limbs means more mechanical complexity, though, which means more opportunity for breakdowns and expensive repairs. Anybody who’s ever played sports, gone hiking, or gotten their hands dirty with some DIY around the house knows how creaky legs and joints can get from overuse.
I can’t say how solidly built the Saros Rover’s legs are without giving it a close, in-person look. Even then, it’d take some long-term use to determine whether the parts you can’t see, such as internal joints and electrical motors, can stand up to it.
But the concept is intriguing, and the thing is so damn cute. It’s only a matter of time until somebody figures out how to make one do a little dance every time it finishes a cleaning run, and when that day comes, I’ll be here to cover it.
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