The robot is a small ball and looks like a smaller copy of the droid from Star Wars.
South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung presented its new development - the home robot-assistant Ballie. The product was first shown at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. The main tasks of the robot are called active help around the house and responding to everyday human needs.
Ballie, which is a small ball that looks like a miniature version of the BB-8 droid from Star Wars, is equipped with a digital camera and smart home control capabilities via a built-in remote control.
During the product presentation at CES, Samsung President and CEO Hyunsuk Kim treated the robot like a pet, controlling it with the commands "come here Bally", "good boy" and "say hello". According to Kim, Ballie, the new robotic assistant reflects "the company's vision of technology as an all-round companion of personal life."
Samsung is positioning the new product as the next step in the development of the Internet of things. The capabilities of the assistant robot include various "smart" functions: Ballie can independently start an alarm clock and open the curtains to wake up its owner, or start a robotic vacuum cleaner if it detects a mess in the room.
“Meet Ballie, a human-centric take on Samsung robots that takes personalized care to the next level. The small rotating robot "understands you, supports you and responds to your needs," the company said. The exact start date for mass production of the new product, as well as the possible cost of the robot, has not yet been disclosed.
One way or another, Samsung is releasing Ballie at a time when a growing number of big tech companies, including Google and Amazon, tend to add a large number of cameras to household items, which causes protests from users. The company notes that when creating a new product, they focused on creating "artificial intelligence that you can trust." Samsung promises that the robot will perform all tasks while adhering to strict data protection and privacy standards. At the same time, the data obtained using the robot will not be transferred to third-party companies without the prior and express consent of users.
