Samsung revealed a bunch of new home appliances, technologies, and TVs at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 event last week. One of the devices that attracted a lot of attention was Ballie, an ‘AI Companion’ robot that Samsung first introduced four years ago at CES 2020.
Ballie has been revamped with new advanced features to help users intelligently navigate their lives by taking care of household tasks, displaying the day’s events, and sharing weather updates. The updated Ballie features a new design, built-in projector, and integration with SmartThings, among other new capabilities that come with updated software.
This AI companion robot runs on Tizen OS, which was previously only used in Samsung’s smart TVs and the Family Hub refrigerator series but has since been expanded to more device categories. The company’s smart and premium monitors, as well as its new cooking range, microwave, and washers, now use Tizen.
Ballie is a novel addition to Tizen, and the operating system helps connect with the user’s other Samsung devices.
This personal home assistant can connect to and manage home appliances to provide a helping hand to users in many situations – continually learning from users’ patterns and habits to provide smarter, more personalized services. The robot can even send video updates of pets or loved ones to users’ devices when they’re away from home, providing peace of mind.
What’s more, Ballie can set the mood for any home activity, whether users are exercising, working, or relaxing. Since it runs Tizen OS and has a built-in projector, it can display a smart TV-like UI on any surface, such as the roof or a wall. You can watch movies or TV shows, stream music, control your smart home devices, and even answer phone calls – making life at home more productive and enjoyable.
Also, this bowling ball-sized robot syncs with your Samsung Account ID, which means it fully integrates with your phones, tablets, and other Samsung devices. You can also play games via streaming from the cloud through Samsung Gaming Hub.
Samsung is planning to release Ballie in 2024, as per the interview given by Samsung VP Kang-il Chung to The Washington Post. Although we cannot be sure about the release date as it may take longer, it does indicate that the concept of robot assistants in homes could be closer than we think.
