Narwal is turning the humble robot vacuum into something closer to a roaming home assistant, using on-board artificial intelligence to recognize pets, spot clutter and even flag small valuables hiding on the floor. Its new Narwal Flow 2 line, shown at CES 2026, is pitched as a cleaner that can understand what it sees instead of blindly bumping around furniture. The result is a robo-vac that promises to track animals, avoid messes and help you find lost jewelry while it mops and vacuums.
From simple suction to AI home scout
Robot vacuums started as glorified bump-and-turn discs, but Narwal is betting that the next wave will behave more like mobile vision systems that happen to clean. The Narwal Flow 2 family layers computer vision and on-device processing on top of traditional suction and mopping hardware so the machine can identify objects, classify them and react differently to each one. Instead of treating every obstacle as the same, the vacuum is designed to distinguish between a sleeping cat, a charging cable and a dropped earring, then choose whether to steer around, slow down or alert you.
The company is explicit that this is not just marketing language about “smart” cleaning but a set of AI systems tuned for object recognition and obstacle avoidance. Reporting on the new models notes that Narwal is using dedicated AI features to monitor pets and find jewelry, and that the Robot vacuum platform is being pushed beyond simple mapping into real-time scene understanding. That shift, from navigation to perception, is what allows the hardware to double as a roaming sensor for the rest of the home.
Narwal Flow 2 and Flow 2 Ultra at CES 2026
At CES 2026, Narwal used the global stage to introduce the Narwal Flow 2 and Narwal Flow 2 Ultra as its flagship AI-powered cleaners. The Flow 2 is positioned as the mainstream robovac and mop, while the Flow 2 Ultra adds more advanced capabilities and higher-end hardware for buyers who want the most sophisticated object detection and cleaning automation Narwal can offer. Both are built around the same idea of a vacuum that can see and interpret the floor in front of it, but the Ultra is framed as the showcase for Narwal’s most ambitious AI work.
Coverage from the show highlights that the Narwal Flow 2 was one of the headline cleaning gadgets at CES 2026, where it was presented as a robot that can find lost items on your floor and alert you to them. Separate reporting on the Narwal Flow 2 Ultra describes it as a model that can dodge cable messes and help you find your pet, underscoring that Narwal is using the Flow and Ultra names to signal a step up from its earlier robots. The company is clearly trying to plant its flag as the brand that brings AI-first thinking to home cleaning hardware.
How the AI sees pets, clutter and valuables
The core of Narwal’s pitch is that its AI can recognize different categories of objects and respond in ways that make sense for a home, not just a lab. In practice, that means the robot vacuum’s cameras and sensors feed images into trained models that classify what is on the floor, from pet toys to socks to metal objects that might be jewelry. When the system detects something that looks like a small valuable item, it is designed to flag it in the app instead of simply sweeping it into the dustbin, so you can retrieve it before it disappears into a waste bag.
For clutter and cables, the same recognition pipeline is supposed to let the robot thread its way through messy rooms without getting tangled or stuck. Reports on the Narwal Flow 2 note that it uses AI to find lost items and that the Narwal Flow 2 Ultra is tuned to understand clutter and dodge cable nests, rather than treating them as generic obstacles. One detailed look at the Narwal Flow 2 Robovac explains that it uses AI systems for object recognition, which is the technical backbone that lets it separate jewelry from crumbs and pets from furniture in real time.
Pet tracking without turning into a nanny cam
One of the most attention-grabbing promises is that Narwal’s new robots can help you keep tabs on pets as they roam the house. The idea is not that the vacuum becomes a full surveillance camera, but that its AI can recognize animals in its field of view and log where they are or have been. That could be useful if you are trying to figure out which room a dog is napping in or whether a cat is hiding under the bed, all without installing separate cameras in every corner.
Reporting on the new Narwal models notes that the company is using AI to monitor pets as part of the same visual system that finds jewelry and avoids clutter, and that the Robot vacuum platform is being upgraded to understand when a living creature is in its path. One analysis of the Narwal Flow 2 Ultra points out that Narwal has launched the Flow 2 Ultra as a robot vacuum that can help you find your pet and dodge cable messes, which shows how central animal awareness is to the product story. The Flow 2 Ultra is explicitly described as a Narwal Flow 2 Ultra robot that understands clutter and can find your pet, so pet tracking is not a side feature but a headline capability.
Docking stations, water management and daily use
Beyond the AI, Narwal is trying to solve the practical headaches that keep many people from using robot mops every day, especially around water and maintenance. The Narwal Flow 2 Robovac is described as shipping with two different docking stations, one with a water tank and another with automatic refilling and draining functions. That setup is meant to let the robot handle both vacuuming and mopping without constant human intervention, since the dock can manage clean and dirty water while the robot focuses on the floor.
In everyday use, that dual-dock approach could make the AI features more valuable, because a robot that can run longer without manual refills has more chances to patrol for lost items or check on pets. Reports on the Narwal Flow 2 Robovac and mop emphasize that it is designed as a combined cleaning system, not just a vacuum, and that the water-focused dock is a key part of the package. One breakdown of the hardware notes that it features two different docking stations, with one handling automatic refilling and draining for mopping, which is the kind of infrastructure that makes a self-directed AI cleaner more plausible in a busy household.
Object avoidance promises and lingering doubts
For all the AI hype, object avoidance remains the hardest test for any robot vacuum, and Narwal is not immune to skepticism. The company is claiming that its new models can navigate around small obstacles with far more precision than earlier generations, using detailed depth sensing and classification to avoid socks, cables and pet messes. It is also talking about millimeter-level obstacle avoidance strategies, which suggests a level of fine control that would be a major leap if it holds up in real homes.
Independent analysis of Narwal’s claims points out that Robot vacuums still struggle with object avoidance, even as companies roll out new sensors and algorithms. One close look at Narwal’s CES announcement notes that Narwal’s new Robot vacuum at CES promises massively improved object avoidance but raises doubts about whether any manufacturer can fully solve the problem yet. In the same reporting, the company is quoted as saying that its system allows the robot to have millimeter-level obstacle avoidance strategies that can adapt to whether debris is wet or dry or heavy or light, which is an ambitious promise that will need real-world testing to verify.
Finding lost jewelry and other small items
The headline feature that sets Narwal apart from most rivals is the promise that its AI can help you find lost jewelry and other small valuables on the floor. Instead of treating every shiny object as dirt to be sucked up, the Narwal Flow 2 is designed to identify items that look like rings, earrings or metal accessories and then alert you through its app. That could turn a routine cleaning run into a kind of rolling search party for things that slipped off a dresser or fell under a couch.
Reports from CES 2026 describe how the Narwal Flow 2 uses AI to find lost items on your floor and notify you, framing it as a robot that can spot valuables before they disappear into the dustbin. One detailed account explains that using AI, the Narwal Flow 2 can find lost items and alert you to them while it cleans, which is a different use of computer vision than simple obstacle avoidance. Another overview of Narwal’s AI push notes that the company is adding AI to its vacuum cleaners specifically to monitor pets and find jewelry, and that this capability is part of a broader Narwal AI strategy that treats the robot as a sensor platform as much as a cleaner.
Pricing, availability and the CES spotlight
Narwal is using CES 2026 not only to show off technology but also to position the Flow 2 line in a crowded market where price and availability matter as much as features. The company is presenting the Narwal Flow 2 as a premium robovac and mop, with the Flow 2 Ultra sitting even higher in the lineup, which suggests that these models will compete with top-tier cleaners from brands like iRobot and Roborock. Exact pricing and release dates are still being clarified, but the framing at CES makes clear that Narwal sees these as flagship products rather than budget entries.
One overview of the CES 2026 announcements notes that Narwal’s Flow 2 robovac was introduced alongside other high-end smart home gear, and that some pricing and availability information is not yet available. The same coverage explains that all products featured at the show, including Narwal’s new models, are part of a wave of AI-infused devices that will roll out over the year, with details to follow once the CES spotlight fades. In that context, the Narwal Flow 2 is described as a CES 2026 Narwal Flow 2 robovac announcement, which signals that Narwal is timing its launch to match the broader industry push around AI hardware.
Where Narwal fits in the next wave of smart cleaning
With the Flow 2 and Flow 2 Ultra, Narwal is trying to carve out a niche as the company that treats robot vacuums as AI platforms rather than just cleaning appliances. By emphasizing pet tracking, clutter understanding and jewelry detection, it is betting that buyers will see value in a machine that can interpret the home environment in detail, not just keep floors dust free. That approach aligns with a broader shift in consumer tech, where devices like smart speakers and security cameras are judged as much on their intelligence as on their core function.
At the same time, the company still has to prove that its AI works reliably in the messy, unpredictable spaces where people and pets actually live. Independent reporting has already voiced doubts about whether any Robot vacuum can truly deliver flawless object avoidance, even with millimeter-level claims on paper. Yet the fact that Narwal is willing to put features like lost jewelry detection and pet finding at the center of its marketing shows how quickly expectations are rising for what a home robot should do. As CES coverage of the Narwal Flow 2 and Narwal Flow 2 Ultra makes clear, the next generation of robovacs will be judged not only on suction power and battery life but on how intelligently they can move through, and make sense of, the homes they clean.
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