CES 2024: LG and Samsung showcase home AI robots
Forget Roomba, the next battleground for robots is being waged and with big firms telling us the devices, cute as they are, will “patrol” our homes.
An artificial intelligence empowered home robot which, in its original form, was mocked as being “inherently sinister,” has made a surprising return at the world’s biggest tech fair in Las Vegas this week.
Samsung gave the 130,000 attendees at the 2024 CES consumer electronics show their first look at the newly revamped “Ballie,” which many thought had done its dash four years ago.
The bright yellow ball that can trundle around your home feeding your dog, projecting fitness videos and also scanning your face to work out how you’re feeling that day.
Not to be outdone, arch rival LG also launched its cute robot on wheels – this one is entirely new but has the somewhat less snappily named smart home AI agent.
They’re two of thousands of new products at CES from transparent TVs to cars that DJ depending in your driving.
Some you’ll be able to buy and many are so out there they may never see the light of day again.
For Samsung, it’s a second stab at Ballie which debuted in 2020 at CES in a smaller and perhaps less loveable form.
At the time, tech website Gizmodo said “there was something inherently sinister about Ballie”.
In a tongue in cheek review it imagined a scenario that Ballie version 1.0 could take over all the connected appliances in a smart home and then theoretically cause chaos and mayhem for its owners.
It’s being resurrected as an “AI companion” and now it can do even more things around the home. But did I mention it was adorable?
A video showed it “patrolling” a house, sending pictures of a pet dog to its owner, turning on the lights at dusk, projecting Zoom calls and saying hello to its human when they return.
Concerns over AI remain but Samsung has insisted that its uses are far more pedestrian and useful.
“Ballie is mobile, smart and connected, equipped with a projector that will enable consumers to live more convenient and connected lives as it seamlessly integrates with their home through SmartThings,” said Samsung Australia consumer electronics head Jeremy Senior in Las Vegas.
LG’s ‘zero labour’ home robot
But two can play at this game. LG also showed of its home AI robot. It’s just as small, rolls just as adeptly and also comes with big googly eyes to win you over.
The Korean giant is trying to steer people into thinking about AI as “affectionate intelligence” and is if to drive that home three of the robots teamed up to do a little jig for the Las Vegas audience.
LG says the smart home AI agent could usher in a “zero labour home” – which is a high bar for a device that is barely half a metre high.
The company said the robot uses “AI and multi-modal technologies that enable it to move, learn, comprehend, and engage in complex conversations”.
Like Ballie, it can “patrol” (both firms used the same term) sending notifications to the user’s smartphone if it finds an open window or any lights left on; it can turn off unused devices, and discern your mood.
It can even detect if you’re feeling under the weather advice you to rest up and email your doctor.
Transparent TVs
Also huge at CES has been transparent TVs – again led by Samsung and LG.
Samsung debuted its MicroLED transparent TV which impressed with its simple design and brightness.
But the company is playing down suggestions it will be available for sale any time soon.
LG seems more confident its Signature OLED T transparent TV will make it to shops, potentially this year.
When turned off it’s entirely see through. When it’s turned on it has various modes which include a digital fish tank.
LG reckons its transparent TV has an edge over rivals.
Chiefly, a black screen slides up from the back of the box switching out of transparency view. The company has figured that while users may like a transparent TV when it’s off – so it doesn’t dominate the room – when they want to each a show they won’t want to see the wallpaper behind as well.
Additionally, the OLED T comes with LG’s Zero Connect box, which debuted in 2023. This bundles all the TV’s cords – power cable aside – into a box that can be placed away from the television but communicates with it wirelessly. That should mean you don’t see a mess of wires behind your see through screen.
Hisense’s absolutely huge TV
China’s Hisense didn’t jump on the transparent train – it’s betting that what consumer really want is a bigger, much bigger, screen.
At CES it showed off 10,000-nit, 110-inch TV. That is one huge gogglebox.
Hisense says the 110 inch UXAU model is for “those who want the most premium TV viewing experience at a groundbreaking size”.
It features Mini-LED X technology to bring “exceptional brightness and clarity,” the company has stated. And it will definitely come to Ausyralia although prices have yet to be released.
Will.i.am’s car DJ
It’s the duet we didn’t know we need. Automaker Mercedes Benz and singer will.i.am have come together with the MBUX Sound Drive.
This is truly a technology that no one asked for and it remains to be seen if anyone wants it.
The MBUX Sound Drive comes preloaded with a range of tracks – many curated by will.i.am – which then change significantly depending on your driving conditions.
Go faster and a tune might get bassier or the chorus might kick in; slow down and the song might become more subtle and melt away.
Mercedes has said the technology is open so budding motor musicians can add their own tracks.
“The autobahn is now an auto-band,” said will.i.am.
No contact health check up
French firm Withings has come to CES with the BeamO.
This little gadget claims to be able to do a four part health check-up in one minute without any contact with the skin.
Just by beaming it at the body it can measure temperature, blood oxygenation, track your heartbeat and act as a stethoscope.
And it’s one of the most reasonably priced new gizmos at CES, coming it at just $370.
Shout on your phone – but no one can hear
The bane of commuters is the obnoxious person on their mobile, chatting away, oblivious to your desire to have a pre-work napette.
The Skyted could be the answer.
It looks like a chunkier version of a Covid mask. But it’s actually a nifty little contraption that uses “advanced noise-absorption technology” to make you almost silent even when you’re having a very animated conversation in the middle of rush hour.
The reporter travelled to CES with the assistance of LG.
Originally published as CES 2024: LG and Samsung showcase home AI robots
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