Narwal Flow 2 robot vacuum uses AI to find lost jewelry and monitor pets at CES 2026

Narwal adds AI to its vacuum cleaners to monitor pets and find jewelry | TechCrunch

Robot vacuum maker Narwal unveiled its new set of smart vacuum cleaners at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) with AI-powered features such as monitoring pets, finding valuable objects, and notifying users about misplaced toys. The company said that its new flagship Flow 2 robot vacuum has a rounded design and easy-lift tanks for better cleaning. The device uses two 1080p RGB cameras with a 136-degree field of view to map out the area and recognize different kinds of objects using AI models. Narwal said that through this tech stack, the vacuum cleaner has the ability to identify an unlimited number of objects. The device first tries to identify an object locally, but in case there are no matches, it sends the data to the cloud for further processing. The Flow 2 has three key modes called pet care mode, baby care mode, and AI floor tag mode. With pet care mode, you can define zones where pets usually rest or hang out to clean them. Plus, it can monitor pets and also check in on your pets via two-way audio (there is no guarantee that they would listen to you, though). In the baby care mode, the vacuum switches to quiet mode near the crib and notifies you of misplaced toys. In the AI floor tag mode, the vacuum recognizes valuable items like jewelry, avoids them, and alerts you. Narwal said that its newest vacuum cleaner has four cleaning modes that can identify different types of dirt. The device can also return to its base to wash the mop and then re-mop a certain area if it is dirty. The company noted that the Flow 2's design allows for a higher hot water washing temperature for better cleaning. Along with the Flow 2, the company also showed off a handheld vacuum called the U50 that weighs 1.41kg (3.1 lbs) and has UV-C sterilization along with heat treatment for allergen removal. The company also demoed an unnamed cordless vacuum with a slim design, 360-degree swivel, and up to 50 minutes of run time. The cordless vacuum also has an auto-empty station that can support up to 60 days of dust disposal.

Narwal's New Robot Vacuum at CES Promises Massively Improved Object Avoidance, But I Have My Doubts

Expertise 13+ years of experience in consumer product reviews, buying guides, best lists, and tech news across a variety of tech categories. As a homeowner, Ajay is also familiar with the unique electrical issues that can crop up in a prewar apartment building. Robot vacuums still struggle with object avoidance, as we learned in our recent lab exclusive, where we discovered that even the best robot vacuums we recommend weren't capable of avoiding every single object we test against and even the ones that claim superior avoidance weren't so good at it. The Narwal Flow 2 is here at CES 2026 with the same bold promises. The company's newest flagship says it'll come with significantly improved and AI-enhanced object avoidance that can even help find your lost valuables. It's an appealing promise, but it's one I take with a grain of salt from any robot vacuum manufacturer. Still, I got to take a look at the Flow 2 and other products in Narwal's lineup for CES 2026 and there's a lot to be impressed by beyond just the improved object avoidance technology, though that will be the standout feature if it works as promised. Here's some of what stood out to me. The Flow 2 comes with Narwal's NarMind Pro Autonomous System, a new navigation system that features dual 1080p RGB cameras with a 136-degree field of view. It runs the VLM OmmniVision AI Model, which Narwal says enables the Flow 2 to have unlimited object recognition capability, unlike other robot vacuums that typically have a list of 20-30 objects they're trained on. Narwal says that Flow 2 is capable of capturing and interpreting surrounding spatial information in real time. If it can't identify an object for local processing, it captures an image and sends it to the cloud-based AI model for analysis. Narwal says the combination of on-device processing and cloud-based AI makes it faster and more precise for obstacle recognition and avoidance. Notably, the company says that it allows the robot to have millimeter-level obstacle avoidance strategies that can be tailored to the obstacle types. There are four different modes, including Pet Care, Baby Care and AI Floor Tag, that let it adapt cleaning to accommodate pets, babies and households. The Pet Care feature supports automatic cleaning of pet zones, finding your pet and video calling for your pet (I don't think my cats would be able to figure this out). The Baby Care mode switches to quiet mode near cribs, sends reminders for lost toys and and avoids areas your baby crawls, though this seems a little counterproductive if you want to keep that area clean, so presumably there's a way to change that setting. Lastly, the AI Floor Tag is a mode that recognizes valuable items and assigns them the highest avoidance priority, logging them in the app to send you an alert. On a more practical level for cleaning, the Flow 2 can recognize different types of dirt and adapt the cleaning strategies depending on if the dirt is wet or dry or heavy or light. It can also decide when the Flow 2 needs to return to the base station to re-wash the mop and re-mop specific areas. These are all fairly useful features, and obstacle avoidance is a fairly tough nut to crack, as I learned in one of our most recent lab stories. As many experts have told me, the problem lies more on the software end than the hardware end, so I'm looking forward to getting the chance to test the Flow 2 at CNET Labs to see if the puzzle has finally been solved. Not as flashy as advanced object recognition, the Flow 2 has some useful quality-of-life features. Most robot vacuums these days come with an all-in-one base station that charges the robot and automatically empties the dustbin into a dust bag. It's a great feature for saving you time and effort, but the downside is that you end up spending on buying dust bags and filter replacements on a semi-regular basis. The Flow 2 claims to eliminate this entirely, featuring a reusable dust bag and a washable debris filter. The Flow 2 is designed to build on everything we liked about the Narwal Flow and ideally improve on the aspects we didn't like as much. It comes with an attractive new arc design, a base station featuring a frosted glass panel, and clean and dirty water tanks that are easier to lift. It supports 30,000 pascals of suction while vacuuming and features the FlowWash mopping system, which allows it to continuously refresh the mop with clean and hot water while cleaning. The new model supports mopping temperatures up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and has 12 newtons of downward pressure. These are all pretty standard features on a higher-end robot vacuum, so I'm most eager to see how it fares when faced with our challenging object avoidance lab test. Narwhal has promised me that the Flow 2 will be conducting a demo to showcase its obstacle avoidance capabilities later this week, so I'll update this story with my impressions after I see it. New cordless vacuums and a mattress vacuum The rest of Narwal's lineup is interesting, since the company is expanding into cordless vacuums and mattress vacuums. The V50 joins the ranks of rivals such as the Levoit Aero and Roborock H60 Hub Ultra. It's a compact cordless vacuum that has an auto-emptying dock. At just 3.1 pounds, I found it easy to hold and maneuver, but I wasn't able to use it since it was just a prototype unit. It also comes with the standard set of features for more premium vacuums, including smart dirt detection, stronger suction power for carpets, detangling brushrolls and replaceable batteries. As a nice touch, it comes with an extra battery by default and all the nozzles and attachments can be stored in the base station. Narwhal's next vacuum doesn't have a name yet, but it's interesting because it strongly resembles the Dyson PencilVac that I went hands-on with before. The entire vacuum is contained in an ultra-slim body, which makes it more resemble a broom or mop than a traditional vacuum. It felt super light when I held it, though again, I wasn't able to actually turn it on and use it. I imagine that, like the PencilVac, this will be more suited for quick clean-ups due to its small dustbin, although it does have 140 air watts of suction, which should translate to solid pickup. On the plus side with Narwal's model it does includes a docking station and an auto-empty dustbin. Narwhal says it has a 50-minute runtime and a 1.6-quart base station that lets you go up to 60 days without needing to empty. That sounds optimistic in my experience if you have multiple shedding pets or a large household. Finally, there's the Narwal U50 Series, which is a specialized mattress vacuum cleaner. It's a compact and handheld device with several sanitizing features designed specifically for mattresses. It has 137 degrees Fahrenheit heating, UVC sterilization and a 16,0000 pascale suction power that's design to remove bed mites and allergens. The dust gets stored in a sealed dustbag that can hold up to two weeks of dust. Narwhal says it's antibacterial and features a transparent window, allowing you to see when it's full. It seems like a little bit of a niche product to me, since you can likely use an upholstery brush with a cordless vacuum to get at least some of the same mattress cleaning, but the sanitizing features are nice if you're concerned about that.

This robot vacuum at CES 2026 can find lost items on your floor and alert you of them

Narwal is also launching a V50 Series cordless vacuum and a U50 Series mattress vacuum cleaner. CES is the time of year when the smart home market shines, showcasing innovative technology from major brands worldwide. Robot vacuum manufacturer Narwal is leveraging the Las Vegas showcase to release its most powerful and smartest robot vacuum and mop yet: the Narwal Flow 2. The company also announced the launch of a V50 Series cordless vacuum and a U50 Series mattress vacuum cleaner. Also: CES 2026 live blog: Latest news on TVs, AI, phones, more The new Narwal Flow 2 features the company's latest technology, with 30,000Pa of suction power and multiple artificial intelligence (AI) features that set it apart in the market. The Flow 2 is a robot vacuum and mop combination that features AI-powered unlimited object recognition and the ability to adapt its cleaning scenarios for homes with pets, babies, and busy households. Using AI, the Narwal Flow 2 can automatically adapt to clean quietly near a baby's crib, and even send reminders for misplaced toys. With Pet Care Mode, the robot boosts cleaning power in pet zones, can find your pet, and features companion video calling. An AI Floor Tag feature recognizes and tags valuable items on your floors, sending you a notification and logging them with priority levels for highest avoidance. All of this (and more) object identification technology is powered by dual high-resolution 1080p RGB cameras with 136-degree FOV and a VLM OmniVision AI Model to process the visual data. The Narwal Flow 2 processes most of the visual data for object recognition on-device, but it can send whatever it cannot identify locally to a cloud-based AI model. Thanks to AI processing, Narwal claims that the Flow 2 has millimeter-level obstacle avoidance capabilities, allowing it to clean around obstacles without issue. Just like it can recognize objects on the floor, it can adjust its cleaning modes when it detects dirty areas or wet spills, much like its predecessor. Also: CES 2026 trends to watch: 5 biggest topics we're expecting at the world's biggest tech show The Flow 2 features a track mop that cleans with water at up to 140 degrees for enhanced stain removal, surpassing the capabilities of older Narwal models. Additionally, it provides 12N downward pressure during mopping. Similar to last year's Ecovacs Deebot X11 OmniCyclone, the Flow 2 dock supports fast charging when the robot returns to wash its mop, which can extend its battery life. The dock has a reusable dust bag and washable debris filter that support up to 120 days between emptying. Narwal also announced a new product category by delving into cordless and mattress vacuums. The V50 Series is a self-emptying cordless vacuum that weighs only 3.1lbs, while a new handheld mattress and furniture vacuum features 137-degree iron heating, UVC sterilization, and 16,000Pa of suction. The company has yet to confirm when the new vacuums will come to the market -- we've reached out to Narwal for further insight.

Narwal's Flow 2 robovac might help you find that earring you lost

Narwal's successor to its edge-mopping Flow robovac is here, and it sports a refreshed design along with a new cleaning mode that can scan your floor to tag valuables that you may have dropped, like jewelry, your phone, a key, wallet, and more. When the Flow 2 detects one of these items, the robovac will maintain a distance of at least 5cm to prevent vacuuming it up. The robovac will also push a notification to the Narwal app containing a photo of the item and its location on a map of your home. Narwal says the Flow 2's built-in AI system allows for "unlimited" object recognition using its dual RGB cameras that capture a 136-degree field of view. It sounds pretty neat, though you unfortunately can't send the Flow 2 on a mission to find a specific item. The Flow 2 also introduces cleaning modes focused on your pets and children, as the robovac can provide reminders when it detects misplaced toys, while avoiding crawling mats and entering a quiet mode upon approaching your baby's crib. It can locate your pet while you're away, too, as well as detect and deep-clean the areas where your furry friend hangs out the most. Aside from these new features, the Narwal Flow 2 comes with several upgrades, including up to 30,000Pa of suction (an increase from 22,000Pa on the original Flow) and 158°F hot water mopping. Similar to its predecessor, the Narwal Flow 2 offers two different kinds of docking stations: one with just a water tank and another with an automatic refill and draining function. The main difference is that the Flow 2's docking stations now come with a reusable dust bag, in addition to a washable and disposable debris filter. The Flow 2 will launch in April 2026, but there's no word on pricing just yet.

CES 2026: Narwal's latest flagship vacuum robot headlines its next-generation smart cleaning product lineup

Narwal's flagship robots always impress, but the Flow 2 takes things to a whole new level. It all starts with a brand-new minimalist design: a sleek, rational arc form factor complemented by intuitive cyber light and stylish frosted glass panels. Beyond the aesthetics, the design prioritizes utility with easy-lift tanks for seamless maintenance. The upgraded AI feature is the standout highlight of Flow 2, whose last-generation sibling has already been well praised for its built-in AI chip. Still powered by dual 1080p RGB cameras with 136° ultra-wide fields of view and a built-in AI chip, the Flow 2 leverages its cloud-based VLM (Vision Language Model) to achieve unlimited object recognition. It no longer just detects; it analyzes and decides in real time. This leap from finite to infinite intelligence allows the Flow 2 to navigate the most complex scenarios with seamless precision. It's even beyond cleaning.

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Narwal has unveiled its Flow 2 robot vacuum and expanded cleaning lineup at CES 2026 on January 4, with a greater push of AI cleaning. Narwal's 2026 product refresh centers on the Flow 2 robot vacuum, alongside new cordless and mattress vacuums aimed at broader home cleaning. The products are on display at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, where Narwal is positioning them as a unified cleaning system covering floors, fabrics, and allergen-prone surfaces. For Apple users, the announcement matters less for platform exclusivity and more for ecosystem reliability. Robot vacuums depend heavily on iOS apps for mapping, alerts, video feeds, and remote control from an iPhone or iPad, especially as camera-based features expand. Flow 2 adds heavier AI claims and higher-end hardware Flow 2 is Narwal's flagship robot vacuum, built around the new NarMind Pro Autonomous System. The system combines dual 1080p RGB cameras with a hybrid on-device and cloud-based AI model designed to identify objects and adjust cleaning behavior in real time. Narwal says Flow 2 can recognize a wide range of household objects, capturing images locally and sending them to the cloud when the robot cannot classify an obstacle on-device. The company says this approach improves obstacle avoidance accuracy over time as the system learns from more environments. The robot includes household-specific modes aimed at pets and children. Pet Care Mode focuses on defined pet zones and supports pet detection, along with remote video monitoring. Baby Care Mode reduces noise near cribs, avoids crawling areas, and prioritizes cleaner pass patterns. An AI Floor Tag system marks valuable items, assigns a higher avoidance priority, and logs them in the app. The hardware specs are aggressive, including up to 30,000 Pa of suction paired with CarpetFocus technology and a DualFlow tangle-free brush system. Flow 2 also updates Narwal's FlowWash mopping system, increasing hot-water washing temperature from 113F to 140F while applying constant downward pressure to better remove stubborn residue. An all-in-one base station handles self-emptying, hot-water mop washing, and hot-air drying. Narwal says the station supports up to 120 days of hands-free operation and uses a reusable dust bag and washable debris filter to reduce disposable waste. Cordless and mattress vacuums extend beyond floors Narwal is also expanding beyond robot vacuums with the V50 Series cordless vacuum, which pairs a lightweight handheld design with an auto-empty base station. The vacuum weighs about 3.1 pounds and uses detachable batteries, multi-cyclone H13 filtration, and smart dirt detection for everyday cleaning. A second ultra-slim cordless vacuum is also part of the lineup, featuring a compact body, swivel head, 140 Air Watts of suction, and up to 50 minutes of runtime. Its auto-empty station supports up to 60 days of hands-free dust disposal. The U50 Series mattress vacuum targets soft furnishings and allergens rather than floors. It combines heated cleaning, UVC sterilization, high-speed tapping, and 16,000 Pa of suction, using a sealed disposable dust system designed for short maintenance cycles. None of the products are designed around Apple services like HomeKit. Dependable iOS app support is crucial as Narwal focuses on camera-based features and remote monitoring. Pricing and release timelines for these products have not been announced yet.

Narwal unveils Flow 2 with AI pet and object monitoring at CES 2026

Robot vacuum maker Narwal unveiled a new line of smart vacuum cleaners at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) featuring AI-powered capabilities to monitor pets, identify valuable objects like jewelry, and notify users about misplaced toys. The flagship model, Flow 2, incorporates a rounded design and easy-lift tanks that facilitate improved cleaning performance. This robot vacuum employs two 1080p RGB cameras, each providing a 136-degree field of view. These cameras enable the device to map out indoor areas and recognize various objects through onboard AI models. Narwal explained that the Flow 2 can identify an unlimited number of objects. The process begins with local identification attempts using the device's internal AI. If no match occurs locally, the vacuum transmits the captured data to the cloud for additional processing, ensuring comprehensive object recognition. The Flow 2 includes three specialized modes: pet care mode, baby care mode, and AI floor tag mode. Pet care mode allows users to designate specific zones where pets rest or spend time. The vacuum cleans these zones, monitors the pets' presence, and supports two-way audio communication for interaction with the animals. Baby care mode activates quiet operation when the vacuum approaches a crib area. It also detects and notifies users about toys that have been misplaced, enhancing safety and organization in households with infants. AI floor tag mode enables the vacuum to recognize valuable items such as jewelry. Upon detection, the device avoids these objects during cleaning and sends alerts to the user, preventing potential damage or loss. The Flow 2 offers four distinct cleaning modes designed to identify and address different types of dirt. Additionally, the vacuum returns to its base station to wash the mop pad. After washing, it proceeds to re-mop any areas previously identified as dirty. The design of the Flow 2 supports a higher hot-water washing temperature, which contributes to more effective mop cleaning. Narwal also introduced the U50 handheld vacuum, which weighs 1.41 kg (3.1 lbs). This model features UV-C sterilization and heat treatment capabilities specifically for removing allergens, making it suitable for users concerned about air quality and hygiene. Another product demonstrated was an unnamed cordless vacuum with a slim design and 360-degree swivel functionality for maneuverability. It provides up to 50 minutes of runtime on a single charge. The accompanying auto-empty station holds dust for up to 60 days, reducing maintenance frequency.