Samsung's latest home robots can do chores and nag you to stop working
Bot Handy's extendable arm can load your dishwasher and set the table.
CES wouldn’t quite feel right without Samsung showing off some robots. A year after it unveiled grapefruit-sized spherical bot Ballie, Samsung has revealed some new machines it’s working on to help out around the home.
Bot Handy has an extendable gripper arm it can use to help you take care of things like loading the dishwasher, setting the table and pouring drinks. There are cameras on the robot’s head and arm and, according to the company, the advanced AI can identify objects of various sizes, shapes and weights. Bot Handy can detect the item’s material composition and use the right amount of force to grab and move it, Samsung claims. The robot also extends vertically to reach higher spots around your place.
The revamped Bot Care is more of a personal assistant and companion. Using AI, it can “take care of all the little details in your life,” Samsung Research head Sebastian Seung said during a presentation. The company says Bot Care will recognize and understand your behaviors and offer reminders. It might, for instance, nag you to get up and stretch your legs if it thinks you’ve been at your computer for too long. Bot Care can also patch you in to conference calls with its handy built-in display.
Samsung is currently testing those robots and it didn’t say if or when you’ll be able to get your hands on them. However, it showed off another machine that US residents should actually be able to buy in the first half of this year.
The JetBot 90 AI+ vacuum uses LiDAR and 3D sensors to figure out the optimal cleaning path. Samsung says it can navigate around cables and small objects while making sure to get into hard-to-reach areas of your home. You can also use it as a home monitoring device via its camera and SmartThings integration.
