Ballie [Courtesy of Samsung Electronics]

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South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled an artificial intelligence (AI) companion, Ballie, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, the world’s largest home appliance and information technology (IT) exhibition, on Monday local time.

Ballie, a small yellow ball-shaped object with wheels, moves autonomously. Equipped with a projector, it illuminates screens on walls, ceilings, or floors and communicates with the owner.

The robot butler, which is connected to all household appliances, turns on lights and displays the desired information on the screen as per the user’s instructions.

Ballie can also map spaces based on LiDAR and understands the home structure better than the homeowner.

Samsung Electronics has been researching these types of conceptual products for a long time. After unveiling the Ballie concept, which follows users like a dog and performs commands, at CES 2020, Ballie has transformed to an AI butler after four years.

“Samsung has been investing in AI for over a decade, and these investments are being realized in various fields today,” Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee said. “Samsung’s goal is to provide AI to millions of people worldwide.”

LG Electronics Inc. also introduced a smart home AI agent on the same day.

This robot, conceptualized as a robot-shaped companion home appliance, autonomously moves around the house with two legs equipped with wheels.

While Samsung Electronics’ Ballie offers a strong extended experience via its screen, LG AI specializes in emotional communication.

With multimodal functions recognizing voice, sound, and images, it analyzes the user’s situation and state of mind to communicate accordingly.

In the demonstration on Monday, the AI agent listened to the owner’s voice, detected the state of their health, and even offered warm words of encouragement.

LG Electronics also said at the event that it is developing its AI engine LG AI Brain, which will be applied to the AI agent.