Samsung shows AI ball robot Ballie for the home
Samsung's spherical robot Ballie appears to be ready for the home. With artificial intelligence and a projector, it should be able to assist.
Ballie can project information onto surfaces.
(Image: Samsung (Screenshot))
The South Korean consumer electronics company plans to bring its spherical robot Ballie, which is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), into households in the first half of 2025. The company announced this at the CES in Las Vegas. The robot is intended to be used as a personal assistant in the home, where it can perform various tasks.
Ballie is not entirely new. Samsung had already shown a prototype at CES in 2020. Samsung then presented the first functions of the household assistant in 2024. Now, in 2025, Ballie appears to be ready for series production.
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The robot is shaped like a ball and rolls along on three wheels. It cannot climb stairs, so it is limited to use on one floor if users would rather not carry it to the next floor themselves. Ballie is equipped with two cameras: a 4K camera at the front and a 2K camera at the back. They are supported by various sensors such as a Lidar module (Light Detection and Ranging), which allow it to navigate autonomously in household environments and make it suitable for surveillance tasks in apartments, for example. It then reports anomalies, including images, via an app on a cell phone.
With AI and projector
Ballie's most striking feature is an integrated laser projector that can project videos, photos, and information onto walls and floors. The projector's projection unit is designed to be movable. Ballie can also display buttons on the floor, which can then trigger functions at the touch of a foot. However, users should not expect a great miracle of light. Sound is output via a loudspeaker.
Ballie receives instructions via an integrated microphone. This can be used to operate smart home devices by voice command, for example. An integrated AI should be able to answer various questions in just a few seconds. In a demo, Samsung showed how an employee held two bottles of wine out to the robot and asked it to make a recommendation. The robot recognized the wine and chose one of the two. However, it remains unclear how flexibly the AI can provide such answers.
Ballie is due to be released in the first half of 2025. Initially, probably only on the US market. Samsung has not yet provided any information on the price.
Heise Medien is the official media partner of CES 2025.
(olb)
