I watched a drone pick up a robot vacuum and (sort of) carry it up the stairs at CES 2026

Have you ever thought about attaching a robot vacuum cleaner to a drone and trying to fly it up the stairs? I saw Mova’s attempt at CES 2026.

Ajay has worked in technology journalism for over a decade as a reporter, analyst, product reviewer and editor. He got his start in consumer technology breaking Android news at Newsweek before joining PCMag, where he reviewed hundreds of smartphones, batteries and chargers as a mobile analyst. He also worked at Lifewire, a Dotdash Meredith brand, as a Tech Commerce Editor, compiling product review lists and assigning product ratings in categories such as smart home, uninterruptible power supplies, generators and automotive technology. Most recently, he was Mobile Editor at Digital Trends, leading his team’s coverage of the latest news, features, reviews, roundups, deals and more on a variety of mobile products, including phones, wearables, VR headsets, batteries and chargers. If you would like Ajay’s advice on all things technology, especially solar panels, inverters, batteries, electric vehicles and charging technology, you can reach him at ajkumar@cnet.com.

Skill 13+ years of experience providing consumer product reviews, buying guides, best lists, and technology news across a variety of technology categories. As a landlord, Ajay is also familiar with the unique electrical issues that can arise in a pre-war apartment building.

It was only a matter of time before someone had the brilliant idea to attach a robot vacuum cleaner to a drone and have the drone carry him up the stairs. The idea comes from Mova, a Dreame sub-brand owned by the same parent company. I watched it in action at CES 2026and I can confirm that it works. Sort of.

A DJI for your robovac

To be clear, this is not a product that is likely to come to market anytime soon or ever. Rather, it’s a proof of concept that Mova calls the Pilot 70. The system is tailor-made to support the load of the robot vacuum and likely also has navigation that allows it to map interior and exterior layouts. Think of it as a “DJI for your robovac,” as Tara Brown, associate social producer at CNET, put it.

For the demo, everything is contained in a fairly small metal box, since Mova and CES organizers want the Pilot 70 to crash somewhere on the crowded show floor. I watched the drone take off and hover in the air for maybe 30 seconds to a minute, before landing again. I expected it to land on the black platform shown in the photo above, but for some reason it didn’t. My contact at Mova told me that the landing worked in previous demos, but there may have been a technical problem this time.

Ultimately, it wasn’t in flight very long, so it was hard to make a judgment on how it would work in real life. It also seemed a bit choppy to me, so I imagine there are still a lot of kinks to work out.

In a perfect scenario, according to the demo video Mova showed me, the drone would carry the robot vacuum from a base station to the second or third floor of a multi-story home. These include the home of a very wealthy person, as shown in the video, with high ceilings and a large open landing. I doubt it would work as well in a skinny or brownstone townhouse.

Another video also showed him outside, carrying the robot vacuum to a hard-to-reach balcony and setting it down to clean. I guess once the cleaning was done the drone would come back to collect it.

The complications here are pretty obvious. Most people don’t have large spaces and high ceilings in their homes for a drone to fly safely. And those who do probably have a cleaning crew that will do a better job than a robot vacuum. Obviously, this isn’t a product you should expect to buy anytime soon, but I give points for a cool concept, even if it’s probably not practical for most people.

Zeus 60 stair climbing robot

On a more practical level, Mova offers the Zeus 60, a stair climber robot. This is a much more practical solution, and it’s one that the Mova representative believes will eventually make it to market. The Zeus 60 works in the same way as the Eufy Marswalker and the Dreame CyberX concept. This is a shell or walker that fits over an existing robot vacuum, and it carries the robot vacuum up the stairs and drops it at the top, so it’s very different from the Saros Rover, our best of THESE winner for the smart home, whose legs are directly attached to the body and the maneuverability that impressed me.

The Zeus 60 is expected to support steps up to 9.84 inches, feature “double-sided independent climbing pods,” which I assume refers to its feet, and includes more than 10 sets of sensors.

It’s a bit too sophisticated, as there are a lot of moving parts involved. There are a pair of lifters that lift the body of the robot vacuum up to the next step, an extension that sits securely on the step, then the lift system retracts, and it all starts again. Once the unit reaches the top, the front opens, allowing the robot vacuum to unfold and do its job.

Mova wasn’t able to share many details with me about which robot vacuums will work with the Zeus 60, but it should support more than one future Mova robot vacuum. Unlike the Pilot 70, it will eventually be available for purchase.