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One for almost everything: Robots take centre stage at home tech show

I love my robot vacuum, and hey, I'm a nerd from way back so I also love my robot lawnmower.
I'm also a realist - I know that I'm an early adopter who sees the simplest form of most products before they mature to the point that they become truly mainstream.
The annual IFA Berlin Trade Fair this week has shown me that not only are we ready, but the choice of robots is endless.
Many new companies are entering the robot vacuum market. This entrant is from Kärcher - a brand usually known for its outdoor pressure washers. (Supplied)
In Australia, Ecovacs Robotics has cornered the market on robot vacuums.
This week at IFA they held the global reveal of their latest creation.
The X2 OMNI is a new-look square robot vacuum with higher level suction capabilities, mops that lift when the machine detects carpet, a hot wash for the mops when done and an auto empty station that cleans the robot out ready for its next clean so you don't need to touch it for weeks on end.
The level of advanced robotics is probably lost on most owners, with robots like the X2 Omni able to not just navigate your home but create an advanced map for you in 3D as well as seeing things on the floors to avoid like the kids' socks, toys or cables.
With a price tag likely over $2000, that's certainly not for everyone.
In fact, it's more likely the X2 Omni will appeal to people who have had and used a robot for some time and know the value of the product and want to get more from it.
But at the lower price point, there are many, many options.
I believe I saw 15 to 20 different robot vacuum displays across the 27 halls that make up the Messe Berlin Showgrounds, and while some of them were recognisable brands, others were just start-ups or new brands trying to capture their portion of the market.
In Australia, we'll have a huge new range of products from the big names like Eufy, iRobot, Roborock and of course Ecovacs, but I even saw robot vacuums from Kärcher - a brand I'd only ever associated with outdoor pressure washers!
But it's not just the floors getting the complete robot attention.
While creepy crawlies clean the bottom of the pool, the Surfer from Aiper floats across the top, skimming up the leaves and debris. This ensures less makes it into the pool filter, making maintenance a simpler thing for pool owners. (Supplied)
Your pool has for a long time had the creepy crawly vacuum cleaner which you could argue is a robot, but now the Surfer from Aiper could be floating across the top of your pool skimming up the leaves and debris that's floating around waiting to maybe get to the pool skimmer.
This solar-powered robot will ensure less makes it into the pool filter, making maintenance a simpler thing for pool owners.
Then in the backyard, the robot lawnmower has really come of age.
Three years ago, I installed a long wire around the edge of my backyard lawn, carefully measuring it out from the fence line or edge of the grass so that my robot lawnmower could know where the boundary is and just randomly go out and clip my lawns on a regular basis.
It was a lot to set up, but has been amazing.
Now, I see new products have launched in Europe like the Goat from Ecovacs which does not require that same installation.
Instead, you place a beacon in the ground in a couple of areas of your yard and remotely control the Goat robot mower around the edge of your lawn, which teaches it your boundaries so it can cut and trim your lawn all week.
Also, it's not random.
Instead, the Goat mows in rows - kind of like you would do with a push mower.
Robots in the pool, robots doing the lawn, robots cleaning the house.
All we're waiting for are the robots to serve us food and drinks - but it does seem that's a long way off.
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