Samsung is working on a robot that can pick up clothes, load the dishwasher, set the table, pour wine and even bring you a drink. The robot is called Bot Handy and Samsung says it will be able to recognize objects using a camera and AI.
The bot aims to be “an extension of you in the kitchen, living room and anywhere else you need an extra hand in your home,” said Sebastian Seung, president of Samsung Research, during Samsung’s press conference at CES today.
For now, it’s not clear how close Bot Handy is to being a real shipping product. Samsung has not announced a price or launch window, and the company has already used CES to show futuristic-looking robots that are more of a concept than a real product. The robot is described as being “in development”.
Video: Samsung
In its current form, Bot Handy is a tall, thin black and white robot with two large digital eyes that change expression as it moves. The robot has a single arm that can rotate at three points – essentially a shoulder, elbow and wrist – with a pincer-like hand at the end. There are cameras mounted on top of the robot’s body and in hand to recognize objects. The robot can move around the room on what appears to be a moving base, rotate from side to side and rise to reach higher objects.
Samsung says the robot will be able to assess the material that different objects are made of to grab them with the right amount of force. He must also be able to handle objects of varying sizes, weights and shapes.
In addition to Bot Handy, Samsung also demonstrated an updated version of Bot Care, a “robotic assistant and companion” that the company showed for the first time in 2019. The robot should be a kind of personal assistant, reminding you to take a break from work or that you have meetings coming up. In a demonstration, Samsung showed the robot automatically opening a screen so that its owner could participate in a video call that was about to start. Like Bot Handy, there is no indication of how advanced it is in development.
With regard to real products, Samsung has a robot that is due to be launched this year. The JetBot 90 AI + is a vacuum robot in the Roomba style equipped with LIDAR, a “3D sensor” and AI to help you recognize objects so you can avoid obstacles better. Samsung says that the vacuum cleaner will be smart enough to approach objects that are not particularly fragile, such as a child’s toy, and stay further away from anything that could break, such as a vase. The vacuum cleaner also has a traditional built-in camera, which allows you to check pets while you are away.
The JetBot 90 AI + is due to launch in the United States in the first half of 2021.