Traditionally, robot vacuums (and manual vacuums, for that matter) tend to struggle to clean thick carpets and rugs. The tall fibers, combined with upward suction, is a recipe for getting stuck. It's slightly ironic, because that's exactly the kind of flooring that would really benefit from a thorough vacuum.

At CES 2026, smart home pool cleaning robot company Beatbot has announced a new, self-cleaning pool robot system, called the AquaSense X, that it says uses AI to identify up to 40 common types of pool debris, from the bottom of a pool up to the water’s surface. It’s available to preorder now.

The Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller is the powerhouse robot vacuum to splurge on for heavy-duty upkeep of frequent wet and dry spills. It would flourish in busy households with multiple kids or pets, complex furniture arrangements, or multiple floor types, including steep thresholds in doorways or any shallow sunken rooms separated by a step.

Beatbot's new pool robot ecosystem, unveiled at CES 2026, does something no other model can do. I got to see it in action at the mega tech show.

Known for its robot vacuum cleaners, Ecovacs shipped its first robot mower in 2023. The Ultramarine is the company’s first foray into robotic pool cleaners.

Narwal staggered announcements of the new versions of its two main botvac series: The newest Narwal Freo came out in September, and now, the Narwal Flow 2 is the flagship representing Narwal at CES 2026. The big difference is the roller mop.

Beatbot unveiled the world's first self-emptying robot pool cleaner at CES 2026 today. This pool owner can't wait to take one home.