Robot vacuum cleaners have got better and better, but until now there’s been one thing holding them back: Their Dalek-like inability to climb stairs.
At the world’s largest tech show, Internationale FunkAusstellung Berlin (aka IFA), a solution was demo’d: The Eufy Marswalker, an accessory that transports a Eufy S2, E25 and E28 robovac up a staircase.
A robovac drives itself into the Marswalker - a “rover” of sorts, that then uses its four legs and a track-drive system to climb stairs. The robovac then whizzes out once it gets to the top (see clip below). On wooden stairs used for the demo at IFA, it did not leave any marks.
It was demo’d on a straight set of stairs, but is billed as being able to negotiate bends as well.
The Marswalker is due in the first half of next year. Pricing has yet to be announced.
The first-generation model will only work with Eufy’s own robovacs, but the long-term plan is that many different brands will be able to hitch a ride, too.
In home security, Anker demo’d the Eufy AI Core, due in 2026, which will work with its latest indoor and outdoor security cameras for natural language queries and better detection of actual threats and fewer false alerts.
It’s pitched as “the world’s first large-model AI agent for the home” and uses the latest AI chip from Qualcomm.
“Imagine, while you are away on vacation, you open the Eufy app and ask, ‘Where’s my cat?’ Within seconds, an indoor camera shows your cat curled asleep on your bed,” said Anker comms director Robert Berg.
“Or you ask, ‘Did my daughter get home from school?’. AI core, through facial detection and monitoring, can answer instantly, and it will recognise you and your family.”
AI Core is also trained for 100 scenarios.
“But what can today’s home security systems really do?”, Berg said. “At best, they detect motion, sent an alert. [But] they can’t tell the difference between kids playing, the mail being delivered or a stranger walking across the street. AI Core can anticipate more than 100 different risks. It knows the difference between a passing car, a wandering pet or a stranger approaching your home. It does all of this with 95% accuracy.”
Berg said AI Core’s security agent would make decisions in under three seconds. All data would be stored locally for privacy.
The AI agent will also try to quell potential trouble. “That means lights can switch on, a voice warning can play, or a siren can sound before trouble has a chance to escalate.”
It sounds promising. We’ll find out if it does what it says on the tin when it’s released next year.
Eufy Security also launched the eufyCam S4, which it says is the first DIY hybrid camera that combines a 4K fixed lens with dual 2K pan-tilt-zoom lenses, providing panoramic coverage and facial detail from up to 15 metres away.
A key aim is to prevent blind spots and it will work with AI Core once that arrives. The eufyCam S4 will be available from October for $799.95 or in a two-camera kit for $1899.95.
Wearable AI brooches have had a patchy record so far. Humane’s ChatGPT-powered, do-it-all AI Pin went from “iPhone kiler” to laughing stock and company-killing financial disaster within months as its maker went bust.
The Souncore AI Voice Recorder, a coin-sized wearable unveiled at IFA, has a tighter brief, which should help it succeed: Recording all of your conversations, 24/7.
It clips to clothing and turns conversations into transcripts and summaries with a claimed 97% accuracy across 100+ languages.
It works with ChatGPT 4.1 for searchable transcriptions.
During the day, you can simply double-tap the Recorder to flag an important bit of audio (although if the product goes viral, there might be the phenomenon where the personal you’re taking a meeting with gets insulted if there’s no chest-tapping).
The AI Voice Recorder is due for NZ release in January for $229.
In August, the EufyMake UV Printer E1 became the most-funded campaign in Kickstarter’s history, with 17,822 backers pledging US$46.8 million ($79.8m).
Using natural language prompts, the E1 lets you turn sketches, photos, or text into textured designs on wood, leather, and metal.
Backer shipments are already under way, the company says, with retail availability in Australia from December, priced from A$4749 ($5200) and from February in NZ, with pricing to be confirmed.
A Kickstarter campaign is also on the way for another new product featured at IFA: The Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro - a 33kg party speaker system and projector on wheels.
A 160W subwoofer can provide chest-thumping bass without juddering the projector thanks to stabilisation technology. There’s also automatic keystone correction if there are any knocks.
A pair of 80W soundbar speakers fold out on the left and right sides and can be detached to optimise placement at the front of the room, with a pair of 40W wireless satellites for the rear channels.
The projector features a 4K triple-laser optical engine and support for Dolby Vision, while the speakers support Dolby Atmos multi-channel spatial sound (Dolby co-presented the X1 at IFA).
The Kickstarter campaign should start later this month with NZ delivery in the New Year, with pricing expected to be around $8999.
Anker, founded by in 2011 by Stephen Yang, who earned a post-grad degree at the University of Texas before joining Google as a software engineer then striking out on his own, began is life a a charger maker.
It’s diverified a lot since, but it sill makes some stonking power bricks, including the Anker Prime Power Bank, a 300W model previewed at IFA that can charge two laptops and a phone at the same time. Anker says it’s also airline-approved (a rarity above 160W).
There’s also the Anker Prime Wireless Charging Station, a 3-in-1 MagGo unit that the firm says can “charge an iPhone 16 pro max to 50% in about 30 minutes, wireless speed that finally feels like wired”.
The Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds, just released in NZ for $349, might save you marriage, or at least head-off a sleep divorce (aka separate bedrooms) if early positive reviews are anything to go by.
The A30s can be used as everyday earbuds for music and calls, but they’re designed to help you sleep, especially if you’re dealing with environmental noise or a partner snoring.
They feature an active noise cancellation “snore masking system” that detects snoring then “triggers a calibrated masking tone. An app lets you choose whether the snoring is offset by white noise or ambient sounds such as ”light rain" and (with hints of dealing with a heavier snorer) “Himalayan downpour”.
An unusually flat design involves silicone and memory foam tips for a “no pressure” feel over hours, even if you’re a side sleeper.
I’ve just got pair and will test them on the flight home (even if in fact it’ll be the person next to me wanting the Himalayan downpour).
Chris Keall travelled to IFA Berlin courtesy of Anker, whose brands include Eufy and Soundcore.
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.