Samsung Unveils New Robotics Division and Trio of Consumer Bots
Samsung introduces a new robotics division alongside three consumer robots focused on healthcare, air quality, and retail. The impressive demos suggest serious potential, though hands-on interaction remains limited.
Samsung uses its CES press conference to announce a new robotics division, unveiling three consumer robots and a wearable exoskeleton. The company reveals Bot Care for elder assistance, Bot Air for air quality monitoring, and Bot Retail for food delivery. This sudden pivot raises questions about whether the tech giant shows genuine commitment or simply hypes up a new product category.
Behind-the-scenes demos highlight incredibly lifelike motions and quick response times that give each robot a distinct sense of personality. Bot Care features medication reminders, yoga lessons, and an emergency fall detection system that contacts authorities. Bot Air cleans the air while moving around the room, and Bot Retail utilizes a touchscreen interface and rear trays to deliver orders.
Despite the impressive choreography, Samsung enforces a strict look-but-do-not-touch policy that prevents journalists from testing the robots directly. This limitation makes it difficult to assess how these machines perform outside of controlled environments. Still, if these robots operate as smoothly in real homes as they do on stage, Samsung potentially cracks the code on mainstream consumer robotics.