IFA 2024 has officially opened its doors to the public, marking the 100th anniversary of the iconic event. Hundreds of consumer electronics brands will be at the show — including Samsung, Acer, and Lenovo — and it’s shaping up to be another big year for the convention. I was invited to preview the sprawling IFA grounds ahead of its kickoff, and while much was still under construction, IFA 100 Years: The Exhibition was largely complete. That’s where I stumbled upon the Karcher RC 3000 — a robot vacuum from 2003 that served as a precursor to many of today’s most prominent devices.
IFA 100 Years: The Exhibition looks back at key innovations in the consumer electronics industry. From gaming and radio to video and home appliances, it captures key moments that shaped our digital lives over the past 10 decades. And while you’ll find plenty of innovative devices in The Exhibition, the Karcher RC 3000 is undoubtedly one of the coolest smart home products in the showcase.
The Karcher RC 3000 was first launched in 2003. It wasn’t the first-ever robot vacuum (many arrived in the late 1990s), but its unique docking station allowed it to run autonomously much longer than the competition. This gave it the ability to vacuum floors and deposit its dust into a reservoir located on the dock, much like the robots you’ll find on store shelves today.
Modern robot vacuums can now mop and vacuum and clean themselves after each use. But being able to carry out just one of those tasks more than two decades ago was a huge achievement. Toss in contact sensors to move around rooms without manual intervention, the ability to adjust its power based on the task at hand, and enough horsepower to climb over small obstacles, and you’ve got an impressive retro robot vacuum.
Despite its age, the RC 3000 still strikes an imposing image. Unlike the muted white and black designs of today, it boasts a gregarious yellow-and-black color palette that immediately catches your eye. Even in a room filled with dozens of innovative electronics, it’ll quickly steal your attention.
Karcher’s modern catalog of robot vacuums isn’t quite up to par with the competition, but if it decides to make a comeback, we’d love for it to keep the design of its iconic RC 3000.
IFA 2024 runs from September 6 through September 10. We’ll be covering all the smart home reveals as they happen, so check back in the coming days for all the latest news.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.