I survived another CES in Las Vegas… and yeah, my feet hurt. CES 2026 was packed with thousands of “me too” products, but there were a few legit game changers (and a couple hilarious live-demo failures) that actually tell us where smart home automation is headed. The show floor was basically wall-to-wall robots—vacuums, mops, lawn mowers, pool cleaners—and most of them were the same. But RoboRock absolutely stole the show for me with a vacuum that can climb stairs and clean them flawlessly. For multi-story homes, that’s the holy grail we’ve all been waiting for. On the outdoor side, I dug into Yarbo’s big vision and their new smaller M series modular yard robot—mowing, snow plowing, and debris pickup with that “one core, modules for every season” DNA. I also saw some less flashy but super important tech: Z-Wave is still alive, and that Fire Alert Z-Wave stove plug that listens for a smoke alarm and shuts off your oven is exactly the kind of safety automation I love. Then we’ve got the bigger industry issue: connectivity. I’m calling out MyQ again because the walled garden approach is hurting enthusiasts and everyday users. At the same time, Reolink’s camera AI is getting seriously exciting—stuff like detecting a UPS driver and triggering an automation is the kind of real-world smart home value I’m here for.