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LG's new CLOi robots are designed for hotels and supermarkets

The CLOi family already included LG's Hub Robot and airport robots.

LG unveiled an impression with a range of robots at last year's CES, and it's poised for a repeat performance at next week's show. Following the trial runs of its Airport Guide Robot and the Airport Cleaning Robot at Incheon International Airport, the Korean company is now expanding its family of robots -- now branded under the "CLOi" name -- with three new models geared toward commercial use. These include the Serving Robot, Porter Robot and Shopping Cart Robot. The machines appear to be about the same size as the Airport Guide Robot, and you'll find a familiar pair of jade-colored eyes on a circular plate at the top.

As you can tell from the name, you can expect to see LG's Serving Robot at the likes of hotels, airport lounges and maybe even restaurants, where it can deliver drinks and meals to customers using its sliding tray. It also appears to have a second compartment at the top that can be used to proffer other items -- like a towel, as shown in the above photo.

As for the Porter Robot, it's designed to handle express check-in and check-out (including payments) to reduce wait time at hotels, as well as to help carry luggage. It's unclear what the maximum suitcase size is, but based on the above photo, it should at least be a medium-sized suitcase as opposed to a hand-carry size.

Last but not least, the Shopping Cart Robot is exactly what it sounds like, and it'll make its debut at premium supermarkets. It has a built-in barcode scanner that lets customers check prices, as well as a display to show your shopping list. The robot is also able to lead you to your desired products, and you can make such requests through a smartphone app. As to how the robot will be following a customer around, that remains unclear.

Specific details on these new LG CLOi robots are still light at the moment, but we expect to learn more at CES next week, so stay tuned.

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