Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

The company’s Saros 20 Flow goes on sale today for $1,499.99 (down from $1,699.99). At 3.53 inches tall, it’s one of the slimmest roller mop models, and with 36,000 Pa suction, camera-based obstacle recognition, and the ability to climb multi-layer thresholds, this robot should be able to get the job done. I got a first look at IFA last week and plan to test it soon.

The buzz at IFA was all around robotics — humanoids, quadrupeds, and wheeled bots designed to be household helpers and companions. I was on a panel (watch it here) where roboticists and entrepreneurs insisted that in five years everyone will know someone with a humanoid at home.

The Roomba Duo is a new concept from iRobot. Two vacuums in one: the larger robot is a vacuum and steam mop (I watched it suck up pasta from carpet) and the smaller one sits on top. When the Duo finds areas it can’t reach, it uses a mechanical arm to lower the second bot to the floor.

The Kata Mini is one of those weird AI companions that have little purpose other than to be cute and creepy — speaker and microphone on your keychain plushie, anyone?

And they won’t be making more, meaning there won’t be a way to add Z-Wave devices to a SmartThings smart home. Aeotec, which makes both hubs for Samsung, told me they have about 10,000 left, which may last through the end of the year. Samsung discontinued the V3 last year and replaced it with the Smart Home Hub 2, which has twice the performance, but doesn’t support Z-Wave.

The fiercely open-source smart home platform had its first-ever booth at IFA this week and, true to form, didn’t pull any punches.

Along with the chargers and cables, Belkin showed off matching power banks for its colorful laptop at IFA this week. The UltraCharge Pro 20K Power Bank ($99.95) and BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank 5K ($59.95) in matching Neo colors are Apple Store exclusives. The entire collection could really cheer up my desk on a dreary Monday morning.