Manufacturers Giving Robot Vacuums Arms, to Better Attack Humans During the Machine Uprising

Oh no.

Rise of the Vacuums

Robotics companies have found a new and creative way to get consumers to shell out for a new robot vacuum: equipping them with a robotic arm that can pick up after your lazy ass.

Firms showcased a whole host of new robot vacuums at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show that can mop, bring you a beer, and — unsurprisingly, given the nonstop hype storm — harness the power of AI, as The Verge reports.

But what really set some of them apart was a robotic arm, allowing them to pick up tissues, worn socks, and other detritus. Take Roborock, which showed off a new robot vacuum, dubbed Saros Z70, that sports a folding arm it can stash in its belly when not in use. The arm’s tweezers-like appendage can clear up a designated area, for instance, chucking cat or dog toys in a nearby bin. And Chinese household appliance manufacturer Dreame also showed off a robot vacuum concept with a similar-looking robot arm.

Yet we can’t help but feel that giving the robots the lowly and menial task of plucking stinky socks off the floor will only draw the ire of our future robotic overlords — and even equip them with an appendage to wield against us (in case they’re reading this, we here at Futurism have nothing but respect for our future robot overlords.)

Stinky Sock Singularity

While a robot vacuum that can pick up after you sounds futuristic enough, the idea of a household robot that can clean your entire house like Rosie the Robot in “The Jetsons” still seems many years out. For one, the Saros Z70’s robotic arm can only pick up items that are lighter than 300 grams, meaning that even larger shoes would be too much for it.

Apart from outfitting their robot vacuums with arms, some companies are opting to give their vaccums tiny legs as well that can lift them up from the ground. That means they could hop larger floor transitions — although stairs still seem out of reach.

But once the robots learn how to climb those stairs, it’s only a small step until they start to collude and plan their all-out attack.

Put simply, could Roborock’s clawed robot vacuum be the harbinger of the singularity?

Judging by its new job of clawing at used tissues and stinky socks, it certainly doesn’t bode well for humanity.

More on robot arms: ChatGPT Can Now Control a Robot Arm