Stair climbing robot vacuums were all the rage at IFA last year, but 12 months later, they have all but disappeared. Although Dreame had its Cyber X platform on display this year, there was only one true stair climber wowing crowds this year.
The Roborock Saros Rover is making its debut at IFA 2026 after CES saw it first earlier this year. Unlike the other systems which use a separate transport robot to carry the vacuum, the Rover is an all-in-one stair climbing machine. It’s able to do this thanks to its unique wheel-leg design.
It performs multiple shows each day and it always draws a big crowd. It’s far quicker than the other transport systems, and once you’ve seen them booth, it’s easy to decide which one is worth developing. It’s also able to clean the stairs, something the transport systems cannot do.
So what happened to the others? They are essentially too slow and cumbersome.
Anker isn’t showing the MarsWalker from last year, so its future is uncertain. It drew millions of views on our social channels and plenty of likes, but many people in the comments weren’t kind. Their argument is, just buy two vacuums. But what if you have multiple levels?
Roborock told Image Matrix Tech that the Saros Rover is still in the testing phase, but it will be coming to market; we just don’t know when. It’s clearly the most advanced product of its type, so it’s no wonder Roborock is showing it off at shows like IFA.
