After several years of development and successive improvements, Samsung will unveil the final version of Ballieits cute assistant robot taking the form of a mobile sphere. A presentation which will take place during CES 2025 in Las Vegas which will be held from January 7 to 11. We told you about Ballie in this article almost a year ago to the day and it is now ready to be released this year; only in the United States at the moment. What new features has Samsung reserved for its little robotic ball?
Ballie: a complete assistant for the home
Ballie obviously retains its integrated projector, which allows it to display films and information on any wall surface, or on the floor. He is also capable to adapt the projection size by moving towards a more suitable wall on a simple voice command.
A kind of rolling video projector, in short, but helped by artificial intelligence : it can follow its owner, help make video calls, connect with other connected objects (a kibble dispenser, for example, as we can see in the video from last year). For the moment and with the information we have, nothing really new compared to last year in these aspects.
On the other hand, it will be possible to communicate with Ballie also with… her feet. Thanks to a system of cameras and sensors, Ballie detects foot movements in a virtual areainterpreting these actions as commands similar to voice commands. During a demonstration, Ballie, for example, guided its user towards the perfect pairing between wine and steak. By analyzing the interactions given with the foot, the robot gradually refined its recommendations.
For now, no official information has filtered out on a possible price. However, given the advanced features of Ballie, we can count on the fact that it will not be within the reach of all budgets. Samsung isn’t the only company jumping into this emerging market, which might give us an indication of its pricing.
Amazon has already been marketing its Astro robot dog, powered by the Alexa assistant, for several years at a price of $1,600, but now only by invitation. LG is also exploring this territory, although the realization of its plans remains uncertain. Even Apple is reportedly showing interest in this segment, with potential announcements planned for March.
We’ll definitely know more about Ballie, its new features and its price as soon as CES begins. It will certainly remain a niche product for the moment, but it perhaps prefigures domestic robots which will accompany us in the next decade. After all, robot vacuums were rare and very expensive products just a few years ago, but today they are much more accessible and common. High-end models like the Xiaomi X20+ or the Shark PowerDetect Pro cost several hundred euros. Fairly fair prices considering the on-board technologies and services offered.
- Samsung will present its Ballie spherical robot at CES 2025, now ready for sale in the United States.
- Ballie combines projector, voice commands, and interactions via foot movements.
- Its price remains unknown for the moment, but it could remain reserved for a limited audience.
