Stair-climbing suction bots: Dreame, Eufy and Mova want to get to the next floor

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In addition to the Anker brand Eufy, two other suppliers, Dreame and the Dreame sub-brand Mova, showed robotic vacuum cleaners that can climb up and down stairs at IFA 2025. These were prototypes with different levels of maturity and technical approaches. They have one thing in common: thanks to their climbing tricks, it should no longer be necessary to manually drag a robot hoover to another floor so that it can clean there too.

Models with a chassis that lifts the housing so that the robots can get over high door thresholds and clean the area behind them are no longer an experiment but a trend suitable for mass production. Following last year's premiere by Dreame and Roborock, other suppliers are now also launching this feature.

At the Bosch stand, Roborock and Ecovacs also gave a preview of how the base stations of robotic vacuum cleaners can be combined with washing machines or dishwashers to save space.

Up the stairs

Dreame, Eufy, and Mova showed motorized transport aids that tow vacuum robots up and down stairs with steps up to 25 centimeters high, like a ferry. In each case, however, it was a programmed routine that took a nerve-wrackingly long time.

Eufy's stair climber seemed the most sophisticated. The ferry called Marswalker transported the Eufy S2 robot vacuum in fluid movements over a staircase, dummy. As soon as the S2 approached the landing, the ferry left its separate charging station, and the robot drove in. The ferry then crawled over the steps on two rubber tracks. Four paddle-like stabilizers, which can also be folded out, provided additional support. Using laser sensors and cameras, the ferry should be able to cope with flat and U-shaped steps as well as L-shaped staircases. The robot does not touch the step surfaces themselves during the transfer, so it cannot clean them. Eufy is aiming for a market launch in the first half of 2026. According to information from heise online, the price is 700 euros. It comes on top of the S2 price of 1600 euros.

There is no specific launch date for Dreame's Cyber X model. The movements of the prototype were bumpier than those of Eufy's solution. Similar to the Marswalker, the Cyber X ferry pulls itself up the stairs on rubber treadmills. However, they are located in four stabilizers, not in the underbody of the ferry housing. Dreame hopes that this will result in better balance on different floor materials, stair widths, and geometries. A combination of laser and AI should precisely calculate the depth, angle, and height of the steps so that the Cyber X does not stumble or slip. It does not clean the steps as it crosses them.

Mova could also clean, but it doesn't

Although Mova belongs to Dreame, it uses a different technology for the ferry called Zeus 60. It works like a lift instead of a tracked vehicle. Two legs on the left and right lift the housing with the parked vacuum robot to the next level. There, the robot's rollers move it forward. In this way, it remains technically possible for the robot to vacuum and mop the step surface. However, this step did not take place during the product demo. Mova left open the question of whether this function will be added at market launch.

In general, doubts remained whether transportation would also work on narrow stairs. To prevent the ferry from tipping backwards, the step must be quite deep to provide sufficient support for the front part of the housing. Mova did not provide a date for the market launch or a sales price. However, when the ferry module is released, it will be compatible with “most of the brand's upcoming robot hoovers.”

When hopping instead of climbing is enough

In households where there are no stairs to climb, thresholds can still become an insurmountable obstacle. Any bot can manage two centimeters in height; for more, you need an extra trick. More and more manufacturers are installing trolleys that are lifted out of the robot housing, giving the robot the decisive air superiority it needs to climb thresholds.

After last year's premiere, Dreame followed up with the Aqua10 Ultra Roller and Aqua 10 Track Roller models. Both are designed to overcome double steps up to eight centimeters high. They are available immediately for 1500 euros each.

The Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Pro (1300 euros, from October) and Ecovacs X11 OmniCyclone (available now for 1300 euros), the Narwhal Flow (available now for 1000 euros), hoist themselves over thresholds up to four centimeters high. The 3i Q10 model is set to reach 3.5 centimeters and will be available by March 2026. A price has not yet been set.

Ecovacs and 3i also have two other interesting additional talents up their sleeves: the OmniCyclone is one of the few base stations that temporarily stores dust in a bagless container. This eliminates the need to buy additional bags. The Q10 will be another of the few models that can be operated via the smart home standard Matter, for example, in Apple Home.

Under the kitchen counter

Due to their large washing systems, the base stations of vacuum and mopping robots require a lot of space. With most models, the tanks have to be refreshed manually. New designs for kitchen appliances and furniture could save space and time.

Roborock combined a washer-dryer based on the new Zeo X model with a garage for an unnamed robot vacuum cleaner. Both shared the inlet and outlet to the domestic water system. The washing machine housing also had additional storage compartments for a vacuum bag and some cleaning solution for the robot vacuum cleaner's mop. This increased the height of the washing machine by around ten centimeters, but it should still fit into standard kitchen units.

Bosch showed a washbasin with built-in hose lines and a washing system for a robot vacuum cleaner from Ecovacs. There was space for a sink for dishes at the top, drawers in the middle, and a garage and a rinsing tray for the robot's mops at the bottom. Bosch advertised the combi as part of the Home Connect system, which bundles app-controlled kitchen and household appliances. A name, sales launch, and price for the two appliance combinations have not yet been announced.

(dahe)