Samsung robot feeds you and helps with laundry

AI is making an amazing advance in the field of medicine and science. It helps to cure diseases, combat global warming, grow crops and provide cleaner, cheaper energy.

But could it be the laundry?

Samsung answered this question at the online CES meeting this week.

The Seoul-based technology giant has reportedly been working on three robots that will serve as personal assistants and tackle a variety of tasks around the home. One, the Bot Handy, will help you sort laundry.

The Bot Handy has a single arm and three pivot points that provide enough flexibility to hold, carry and place items as fine as dishes. It has cameras that with the help of AI can recognize objects and handle accordingly. The ability to locate the material of objects being traced ensures that the right force is used to secure it in its grip and carry it to a destination. It will locate laundry, list and help sort. It can even pour a glass of wine and bring it to you after a hard day.

“Bot Handy uses AI to understand objects, such as a glass beaker or ceramic plate, and note their shape and materials to work as your trusted partner,” said Sebastian Seung, president and CEO of Samsung Research. “Bot Handy can move around and do things like set the table or hide groceries. It gives the text of what a robot might look like in your home.”

The robot’s elongated “face” has two eyes that close or expand to convey emotion. With a rolling base, it can move seamlessly in a room. It can comfortably lift itself to place objects on the top shelf of a closet.

According to Seung, the robot is an attempt to adapt AI more specifically to the needs of consumers.

“Among many things, your home has taken on greater significance,” he said. “But what if the house, and the technologies in it, were actually built around you? At Samsung, we find ways to do that.

A second robot was unveiled at the CES show, which was virtually held due to the pandemic. According to Seung, bot care is’ designed to ‘look after the small details in your life’.

The Bot Handy acted as assistant and companion in a demonstration video chatting with his human companion. At one point, Bot Handy calculated that the person had been on her computer for a long time and needed a break. It later noticed the time and advised her of an upcoming meeting, rolled up to her and opened a built-in screen to prepare for a video conference call.

Samsung has not released any details on when or whether these models will be available to the public. No pricing information was available.

A third bot that is expected to be available in the first half of this year is the JetBot 90 AI +, a smart vacuum cleaner. Equipped with LiDAR, laser-based technology that enables precise 3D mapping, the Jet Bot 90 AI + can do an excellent job of detecting objects in its path, and avoiding fragile objects such as vases, while being closer to firmer.

As Samsung’s president and CEO Hyunsuk Kim said at the CES event last year, this new crop of friendlier, more practical robots is an extension of the company’s philosophy of ‘people-centered innovation’.

“In the era of experience, we need to think again about the space we have to accommodate our diverse and changing lifestyles,” Kim said.

© 2021 Science X Network