A man plays chess with an AI-powered chess robot at the exhibition area of Chinese company SenseRobot at a pre-show event of the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the United States, Jan. 5, 2026. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

By Wen Tsui, Huang Heng

LAS VEGAS, the United States, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- At the ongoing 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Chinese companies are unveiling a future where artificial intelligence seamlessly integrates into daily life, from AI-powered bartenders to underwater cleaning robots, enhancing human experiences.

About 40 Chinese tech startups are showcasing their smart home technologies at the world's largest consumer electronics show, running from Jan. 6 to 9, designed to make homes not just smarter, but also more intuitive and responsive to human needs.

Among the standout innovations is BreakReal's AI-powered bartending robot, designed to enhance social experiences in entertainment settings, reflecting a trend where technology complements rather than replaces human interaction.

Li Yanan, the 25-year-old founder of the company, told Xinhua BreakReal's robots are a practical example of bringing AI agents into the physical world. Meanwhile, Physic AI has become a hot topic at this year's show.

"For example, our products do not simply execute pre-set classic recipes, but understand the user's emotions and taste preferences through dialogue, perform real-time reasoning under multiple constraints, and drive real hardware systems to complete the mixing process," she said.

Liang Shining, director of international business development at SenseRobot, told Xinhua that the AI-powered chess robot can provide an immersive training experience for players of all levels, from beginners to grandmasters. Following its launch at Costco and Amazon last year, the company has expanded internationally through its standalone website.

Autel drew crowds with its automated charging robot, designed for seamless cable connection to electric vehicles, alongside an inspection robot engineered for routine facility monitoring, for large-scale sites and fleet charging stations, aiming to liberate human workers from repetitive tasks.

Dreame's pool cleaning robots, equipped with LiDAR technology for autonomous underwater navigation, are specifically designed with American consumers in mind. "Americans tend to prefer larger pool cleaners, much like their preference for big, comfortable and spacious vehicles," explained Wu Tao, global marketing and sales director of Dreame.

With the LiDAR technology, which enables autonomous underwater cleaning with more precise path recognition than previous generations of pool robots, "we've received considerable consumer attention," said Wu.

"I think Chinese companies today all care about one thing, and that's giving back to the local market. Localization is very important," said Chris Pereira, a CES Innovation Awards judge for 2026 and president and CEO of iMpact.

"One of the takeaways from the event is there's so much opportunity for cooperation between the U.S. and China," Pereira said. "The second is Chinese innovation is coming to the world, and there's more positivity towards that."

At a global media gathering at CES on Tuesday, Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang praised Chinese entrepreneurs, engineers, technologists, and AI researchers as "among the world's best."

He also highlighted China's "very fast moving" technology ecosystem, noting that the large number of startups -- many of which have gone public and performed well -- serves as evidence of a vibrant market. ■

People visit the exhibition area of Chinese company Dreame at a pre-show event of the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the United States, Jan. 5, 2026. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)