Samsung’s CES 2021 robots clean your home and pour you a glass of wine

This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the most popular articles from the all-virtual CES 2021.

It would not be CES without some new Samsung robots. The company unveiled three new Bots during its virtual press conference on Monday to help pick up items around the house and act as personal assistants. And one of them, a smart vacuum that also serves as a security camera, will be available in the US in the first half of the year.

Unlike previous CES press conferences, Samsung’s event on Monday focused on larger technology than naming dozens of new products. This included the importance of AI for all Samsung products, whether the technology is clear to users or running in the background. Samsung Research CEO Sebastian Seung presented the press conference instead of the CEO of the company’s electronics company.

“Our world looks different, and many of you have faced a new reality – one where your home has taken on greater significance, among other things,” Seung said. “Our innovations are designed to provide more personal and more intuitive experiences that express your personality. We are working hard to provide you with the next generation of innovation, with AI as a core actor, for a better tomorrow.”

Like almost all major technology companies, Samsung puts a lot of pressure on artificial intelligence. The technology, which enables devices to act independently, is seen as the next big computer wave, the way we will communicate with our devices in the future. Instead of sweeping over our phone screens, we will talk to our devices or to listening microphones around our homes and offices. The ultimate promise for AI is to predict what you want before you even ask for it, although most smart assistants are not that smart yet.

Rather than which puts its Bixby voice assistant at the forefront of its technologySamsung has been using AI in the background of its products for the past few years. It has washing machines that optimize water usage, smartphone cameras that enhance photos and videos, and TVs that can magnify HD content to a “pristine” 8K resolution. But Samsung has also developed robots.

AI is going to be ‘more personal and predictive,’ Seung said during Monday’s virtual press conference. “It’s about benefiting you every day by being a core part of the products and services you enjoy. AI is a transformation technology. When AI is involved, it creates something new.”

These include the JetBot AI Plus Robot Vacuum Cleaner, Bot Care Personal Assistant Robot and Bot Handy Robot that can clean up clutter and move things around in a home.

At CES 2019, Samsung showcased four different types of robots to consumers. These include Bot Air for air purification, Bot Care for health monitoring, Bot Retail for restaurants and shops, and GEMS (Gait Enhancing and Motivating System) to help people with mobility problems. At the time, Samsung said the robots were just research. It did not have a timeline for when it would start. Later that year it showed Bot Chef who can help prepare home cooking ingredients and cook meals.

At CES last year, the company proposed Ballie, a tennis ball-like “partner” robot. The small, bright yellow, rolling robot follows co-CEO HS Kim around the main stage and responds to his commands. Ballie ‘understands you, supports you and responds to your needs to be actively helpful in the home’, Samsung said. Like Samsung’s other futuristic robots, Ballie has no release date.

Will your home near you suck soon?

Samsung did show off one robot on Monday that may soon appear in homes across the US. The company JetBot 90 AI Plus, which arrives in the US in the first half of the year, looks like a normal round robotic vacuum cleaner, but it has improved the cleverness of cleaning a house better.

The device uses object recognition technology to identify and classify objects to select the best cleaning path. Lidar and 3D sensors – the same kind of technology that drives self-driving cars – avoid the JetBot cables and small objects. Users can set up no zones and monitor the progress of the JetBot using their mobile devices. The vacuum cleaner even empties its own bin at the charging station, which removes the need for users to clean the robot themselves so frequently. And the JetBot has a camera that can be used as a home monitoring device when paired with Samsung’s SmartThings app.

“When the robot stops somewhere, you can use your mobile device and get a live stream of what it sees,” Rich Leonarz, direct product marketing of Samsung Electronics’ small home appliances, told reporters before the news. “Maybe not today if we work so often at home and at home, but think about when you go on vacation, even business meetings. Now you can have a robot at home, it’s actually your caretaker.”

Samsung’s Other New Bots

Along with the JetBot AI Plus, there were a number of other Bots that are more futuristic. Samsung’s new Bot Care, similar to what it showed two years ago, uses AI to recognize and respond to your behavior. It can be requested as a robot assistant and companion. The Bot Care can learn your schedule and habits and send you reminders while you work on your day.

The robot shown on Monday looks similar to Pixar’s Wall-E character. The Bot Care has a white, trash-like bowl with wheels and a slender neck that lifts the machine’s head. The head has a digital screen on the front, which lets eyes and other icons flicker across the screen, while a tablet-like monitor opens from the top of the head for video conversations (with real people, not with the Bot Care).

The Samsung Bot Handy is designed to be an extra touch in the home. It uses AI to recognize and pick up objects of different sizes, shapes and weights, and it can see the difference between the material composition of different objects. The knowledge allows the Samsung Bot Handy to calculate the right amount of power to grab and move household items and objects. It can help to do things like tidy up cluttered rooms or sort dishes after a meal.

Like the Bot Care, the body of the machine has a white finish with a black screen on the front that can show eyes that blink and make the robot look more lifelike. To the left of the robot’s body, a single arm with hinges protrudes into the Bot Handy’s armpit, elbow, wrist and robot hand. The Bot can conveniently make itself longer or shorter, and its claw hands can do tasks such as pouring a glass of wine, placing dirty dishes in a dishwasher or placing a flower in a vase.

And Samsung continues to streamline its Bot Retail for shopping environments and its GEMS mobility tool for exoskeleton.

“These innovations enable robots and robotic devices to coexist with humans, enhancing their lives and providing for a variety of lifestyles and environments,” Samsung said in a press release.