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Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale this October includes markdowns on several robot vacuum/mop hybrid devices. Discounts are also available outside Amazon, with retailers such as Best Buy and some manufacturers offering their own reduced prices on similar cleaning robots.
Two major companies with over 15 years of experience plan to launch innovative solutions in 2026: autonomous robot fleets for construction projects and an open-source platform for real-time IoT data analysis. These initiatives aim to modernize traditional industries and expand technological capabilities.
Roborock is offering significant discounts on its range of robot vacuum and mop combo devices during the Fall Prime Day event, with savings reaching up to $1,600. The sale highlights the company's lineup of high-performance floor cleaning robots at record-low prices.
During Prime Day, the Roborock RockMow X115H was discounted to $1,400, down from its original $2,299, marking its lowest price ever. The mower is capable of managing lawns up to 0.37 acres without boundary wires, using cameras and sensors for navigation, and can handle slopes up to 38.7 degrees thanks to its four-wheel drive and active steering. It features adjustable cutting heights and can return to its charging station automatically.
On October 2nd, the FCC added Matic's models 4MA0001 and 4DK0008 to its waiver list, allowing their import and sale. However, these models did not require a waiver since their radios had been approved years earlier, and the company assembles the robots domestically in California. The FCC's recent actions aim to tighten regulations and close loopholes in its import bans, but Matic's products are unaffected by the current restrictions.
German robotics startup RobCo has surpassed a $1 billion valuation through a secondary share sale that let long-tenured employees cash out part of their equity. Existing backers Sequoia, Lightspeed, Greenfield, Kindred, Lingotto and Promus Ventures joined new investors Cherry Ventures and European Tech Collective in the round, which follows a $100 million Series C announced in January 2026. The company plans a 2027 commercial launch of its autonomous robot Alfie, with a focus on expanding in the US manufacturing market.
At the Tsentr-2026 military exercise, Russia's new Shturm uncrewed tank lost its command-and-control radio link mid-demonstration, forcing operators to switch to manual control with an onboard driver. The tank then became stuck in a muddy ditch during the display in front of President Vladimir Putin. Built by Uralvagonzavod on modified T-72/T-90 chassis, the Shturm is designed for remote-controlled urban assault roles.
The California State Athletic Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to organizers of Robot Entertainment Kombat, which staged a human-versus-humanoid-robot cage match in September billed as the first of its kind. The commission says the event lacked required permits and ordered organizers to stop hosting or promoting such fights or face misdemeanor charges. Founder Cix Liv publicized the letter on social media rather than disputing it.
iGarden's K70 is a cordless robotic pool cleaner that scrubs floors, walls, and the waterline, running up to seven hours per charge with scheduling options. It uses three brushless motors to circulate up to 22,000 liters of water hourly, offers a turbo mode for heavy leaf debris, and filters particles down to 50 microns via a 4-liter removable basket. The device is currently available with a $550 discount tied to Prime Big Deal Days.
Bill Gates told New York Times columnist Ezra Klein that automation replacing human workers should trigger the same FICA payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. He proposed defining a unit of labor so that work performed by robots or AI would be taxed like human wages, funded by the savings companies gain from not employing people. This echoes an August essay in which Gates also called for taxing AI tokens and noted that robots, unlike human employees, can be written off as business expenses.
Flourish Robots has begun taking preorders for its Flourish 1 humanoid robot, priced at $3,555 for the first 50 units, with deliveries planned for December. The company says the robot can learn household chores like sorting items, watering plants and cleaning litter boxes within about 30 minutes using a smartphone app, with no coding required, and an optional subscription will cover cloud compute for some AI features. CEO Antoine Marcel says the robots are already in manufacturing, with battery supply lead times being the main scheduling factor.
The US Army has named five winners of its xTechHumanoid competition, run through the Army FUZE xTech program in partnership with the Humanoid Community of Collaboration. Among 103 submitted proposals, the winners include power systems, tactile fingertip sensors, software, and a humanoid robot called Alex, built by the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Alex features 29 joints, custom backdriveable actuators, ballistic protection, and a hybrid autonomy system combining AI with human control.