Roborock Saros Rover is The Robot Vacuum With Legs

Roborock Saros Rover is the first robot vacuum with legs that can climb stairs, signalling a major shift in smart home cleaning design.

Remember when robot vacuums first rolled onto the scene? We all stared at these little disc-shaped wonders and thought, "This is it... housekeeping will never be the same." Fast forward to today, and they’re practically as common as coffee makers in some homes. But there’s always been that one nagging question, the one I’ve heard at literally every dinner party for the past ten years: "Cool, but can it clean my stairs?"

Well, folks, we finally have an answer. Sort of.

Roborock Saros Rover is The Robot Vacuum That Can Finally Can Tackle Your Stairs

Perviously, a robot vacuum with an arm has been unveiled. Now at CES 2026, Roborock, the Chinese brand that’s been quietly dominating the smart home cleaning space, unveiled something that looks like it walked straight out of a Boston Dynamics lab. Meet the Roborock Saros Rover, a robot vacuum that’s sprouted actual legs. And no, this isn’t some conceptual CGI fantasy. It’s real(ish).

So How Do You Add Legs to a Vacuum?

Here’s where things get interesting. The Saros Rover doesn’t just have static appendages. It’s got a pair of articulating wheel-legs that move in a "froglike manner." Think less "clunky robot" and more "nimble amphibian." These legs can raise and lower independently, execute tiny jumps, and pivot with surprising agility.

The stair-climbing process is methodical, almost meditative to watch:

• It lifts its body using the legs
• Lowers itself onto the next step
• Pivots on one leg to vacuum along the surface
• Repeats the process for each subsequent step

It’s not racing up the stairs like a caffeinated toddler... more like a careful elderly cat. During the live demo, it took just under three minutes to climb five stairs. That’s... not fast. But hey, it’s doing it, which is more than any other robot vacuum can claim.

The Reality Check: What You’re Actually Getting

Let’s pump the brakes on the excitement for a second. The Saros Rover is very much a product in development. No specs have been released. No price tag. No concrete launch date. A company spokesperson literally said it’ll "take a while to reach the market." So if you’re picturing ordering one next week, maybe don’t hold your breath.

Current limitations include:

• Speed: That three-minute climb time isn’t winning any races
• Functionality: It’s vacuum-only right now—no mopping system
• Availability: Still in the "we're figuring it out" phase 😅

When asked about mopping capabilities, the spokesperson admitted they’re "still working out which of our mop systems will work or whether we do a different thing altogether." Translation: the mopping feature is a giant question mark.

But Wait... There’s More Flexibility Than You Think

Despite the slow climb, the Saros Rover isn’t a one-trick pony. It can navigate down stairs using the same method, which is honestly just as impressive. And if you’re in a hurry to get it to clean your upstairs bedrooms, you can apparently set it to skip vacuuming the stairs entirely... just using them as a path to the next floor.

The demo also showed it handling slopes with controlled grace, rolling downhill smoothly and even performing small hops to clear multilevel room thresholds. It’s like watching a very determined, very small parkour athlete.

Why This Actually Matters (Beyond the Cool Factor)

We’ve seen robot vacuums evolve from dumb discs that bumped into walls to AI-powered cleaning machines that map your home and avoid pet poop. But the stairs? That’s been the final boss of home automation.

The fact that Roborock is even attempting this, and showing a working prototype, signals a massive shift. Robot vacuums aren’t just getting smarter; they’re getting more physically capable. We’re moving from flatland navigation to true 3D spatial awareness.

And yeah, the Saros Rover might be slow and lacking a mop right now, but remember how the first iPhone didn’t even have copy-paste? Early iterations are always clunky. The important part is that the door has been kicked open.

Watch Roborock Saros Rover in Action

The Bottom Line

The Roborock Saros Rover is equal parts exciting and frustrating. Exciting because it’s the first robot vacuum that can genuinely tackle stairs... not with some janky ramp accessory, but with actual mechanical legs. Frustrating because it’s clearly not ready for prime time.

If you’re the type who needs to have the latest tech right now, this isn’t for you (yet). But if you’re the type who gets giddy seeing the future unfold in real-time? Keep your eyes on this one.

What do you think? Would you trust a legged vacuum on your staircase, or does this all sound a bit too sci-fi? Drop a comment below and let’s talk about it.