This new robovac has an arm and can phone home
by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy from The Verge - All Posts on (#6HP4G)
Robots are growing appendages... The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is the first robovac with an arm. It's also one of the first to support Matter. | Image: Roborock
While we wait impatiently for robot vacuums to grow legs to tackle our stairs, Roborock has added an arm to its newest flagship model. Launching at CES 2024 in Las Vegas this week, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra has an (admittedly very small) arm that pushes the robot's side brush out further to get into corners. Okay, so it's not going to be picking up your slippers and bringing them to you, but hey, it's an arm! On a robot! In your house!
The $1,800 (gulp) S8 MaxV also includes a new voice assistant for controlling the vacuum without another smart device, 10,000 Pa of suction power, support for Matter, and a new camera - enabling AI-powered obstacle avoidance and video calling.
The robot's mopping system is getting an upgrade, too,...