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Meet Ballie, Samsung's new rolling robot for your smart home

HS.Kim CES 2020 Keynote 3
© Samsung

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Who saw this one coming? At CES 2020 in Las Vegas, Samsung launched Ballie - an AI-powered robot designed to give you hand at home. It looks a bit like a mini BB-8 from the Star Wars series, and we think it's kind of cute.

Ballie is a product designed for what Samsung is calling the 'Age of Experience'. Samsung Consumer Electronics President and CEO, H.S. Kim, heralded a decade of human-centric innovation on stage in Nevada and described how the combination of hardware and software to create personalized experiences will make life more convenient, more enjoyable, and more meaningful.

Samsung’s vision of robots as ‘life companions,’ starts with Ballie, a small, rolling robot that understands you, supports you, and reacts to your needs to be actively helpful around the house. During the demo on stage at the CES 2020, it appeared to use a camera to track Kim and follow him around. It also has on-device AI to enable it to be a fitness assistant and a mobile interface that "seeks solutions for people’s changing needs".

CES 2020 Ballie 01
Look like a tennis ball, but Ballie is actually a small, intelligent robot. / © Samsung

Ballie didn't do much on stage apart from following Kim around, but Samsung has already released a couple of teaser videos on social media that show additional functionality to help both human dwellers and pets. Ballie will seemingly able to open blinds and turn on the TV, for example, as well as instruct a cleaning robot to clean up some mess.

"We believe AI is the future of personalized care," stated Sebastian Seung, Executive Vice President and Chief Research Scientist at Samsung Electronics. "We see on-device AI as central to truly personalized experiences. On-device AI puts you in control of your information and protects your privacy, while still delivering the power of personalization."

HS.Kim CES 2020 Keynote 5
Samsung's H.S. Kim holds Ballie on stage at the CES 2020 in Las Vegas. / © Samsung

Samsung did not announce any pricing or availability for Ballie. The presentation was more of a look into the future in which the South Korean manufacturer is heading. Either way, Ballie is one of the cutest products we've seen at CES so far this year.

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David McCourt

David McCourt
Editor

David enjoys staying abreast of the latest technology and newest Android apps. Outside of the office, he can be found playing snooker and writing bad 00s indie songs.

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  • Dean L. 34
    Dean L. Jan 10, 2020 Link to comment

    This wouldn't last long in my house with my 3 dogs who live to play with balls until they are unusable. I think I'll save my money.

    marco sarli


  • marco sarli 39
    marco sarli
    • Admin
    Jan 8, 2020 Link to comment

    I already have cats following me around the house and taking care of my emotional needs. Somehow I think it is better

    Dean L.