For what feels like eons, the humble staircase has stood as the ultimate nemesis for robot vacuums, a multi-level gauntlet that’s kept our automated floor-scrubbers firmly chained to a single storey at a time. But then, at CES 2026, Roborock sauntered onto the battlefield, brandishing a rather brilliant new cheat code: legs. The company unveiled its Roborock Saros Rover, a cleaning marvel that’s frankly said ’tally-ho!’ to the traditional wheel-only design, opting instead for a “wheel-leg architecture” utterly intent on scaling the domestic heights.
Now, let’s be crystal clear: this isn’t some awkward, half-baked shuffle up a single stair. Oh no. The Saros Rover deploys its pair of independently controlled legs to elegantly hoist its chassis, maintain impeccable balance, and manoeuvre with a frankly rather unsettling agility for something designed to suck up dust bunnies. It can pull off neat little hops over door thresholds, glide up ramps, and, most crucially, it can saunter up and down staircases – all while diligently hoovering every single step as it goes. Roborock assures us this mechanical marvel employs a sophisticated blend of AI algorithms, motion sensors, and 3D spatial data to grasp its surroundings and respond with uncanny precision.
While a few other intrepid companies have dabbled with stair-climbing concepts, they’ve typically resorted to rather clunky, separate rover modules to ferry their vacuums between floors. The Saros Rover, however, arrives with an utterly integrated design, which is a smashing leap forward, tackling the multi-storey conundrum head-on. This, folks, isn’t some pie-in-the-sky concept; it’s a bona fide, working product, even if Roborock is currently playing its cards close to its chest regarding price and release date.
Why Is This Important?
The Saros Rover, if it lives up to its dazzling demo, represents nothing less than a potential knockout blow to the robot vacuum’s Achilles’ heel: its utter inability to autonomously tackle an entire multi-storey abode. Should this mechanical marvel perform as advertised, it could well consign to history the faff of buying multiple devices or lugging a solitary unit between floors like some sort of motorised pet. This isn’t just an upgrade; it transforms the robot vacuum from a mere single-floor convenience into a genuinely comprehensive, whole-home cleaning solution. While we’re still itching to see how it fares on those notoriously tricky narrow or curved staircases, the Saros Rover is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most significant – and, let’s be honest, utterly brilliant – advancements in home robotics we’ve clapped eyes on in donkey’s years.
