LAS VEGAS — Robots cleaned, climbed, mowed, and toiled on the assembly line at the CES 2026 show this week, offering potential breakthroughs in home and industrial use for consumers and manufacturers.
Roborock drew plenty of gawks on the show floor with Saros Rover, a robot vacuum featuring articulated legs that enable it to climb entire staircases while cleaning each step. The device represents a significant leap forward in home cleaning automation, potentially allowing a single robot to service multiple floors without human intervention.
Live demonstrations showcased Rover’s fluid, frog-like leg movements, which provide greater flexibility than traditional wheeled vacuums. The robot lifts its body onto each step, pivots to vacuum the surface, then proceeds upward. While the process took nearly three minutes to climb five stairs, the technology successfully navigated the challenge without falling.
Roborock claims the Rover will handle various staircase types, including traditional, curved, spiral, and carpeted designs. The device also demonstrated slope navigation and small jumping capabilities for clearing room thresholds.
The company is taking a measured approach to market release following criticism of its previous Saros Z70 model. The current prototype functions only as a vacuum, with mopping capabilities still under development.
Segway introduced four new autonomous mowing series, with two models opening for pre-orders on Jan. 16. The X4 series leads the announcement, featuring the X430 model at $2,499 for one-acre coverage and the X450 at $2,999 for 1.5-acre capacity.
The X4 series incorporates several technical advances, including an all-wheel-drive system capable of handling 40-degree slopes — double the incline capacity of many competitors. The mowers utilize RTK, 360-degree VSLAM, and VIO technologies for centimeter-level mapping accuracy without requiring physical antenna installations.
Segway’s MowMentum Cutting system features dual cutting decks with 12 blades and twin 180-watt motors. The company claims the X4 achieves three times the efficiency of competitors, mowing one acre in 11 hours.
Both models include IPX6 waterproofing, Apple Find My integration, rain detection, and compatibility with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Home Assistant platforms.
In the industrial sector, Universal Robots partnered with Robotiq and Siemens to demonstrate an advanced palletizing solution combining physical robotics with digital twin technology. The showcase at the Siemens booth features Robotiq’s PAL Ready palletizing cell and Universal Robots’ UR20 robotic arm integrated with Siemens’ new Digital Twin Composer software.
The demonstration presents a photo-realistic, real-time simulation of the palletizing cell alongside live hardware operation, illustrating how manufacturers can use virtual modeling to optimize processes before physical implementation.
“Our work with Robotiq and Universal Robots exemplifies what can happen when you mix together advanced automation and real-time digital twins with the power of industrial AI,” said Stuart McCutcheon, global vice president of sales and customer success at Siemens Digital Industries.
The collaboration aims to help manufacturers accelerate innovation, optimize operations, and improve efficiency through the integration of physical and digital automation tools.
