Samsung’s Ballie made waves at CES 2020 as a home robot concept that could one day roam your home. In 2024, Samsung brought it back to CES to share that it was giving the device a projector that can stream information and content onto different surfaces. At CES 2025 in Las Vegas, it’s taking things a step further and announcing that it will actually ship the rolling robot this year in the US.
We don’t have the price or a release timeframe yet, but during one presentation, the the Wall-E-like robot was able to share information about Las Vegas attractions, turn on lights and various smart home products by voice command and project the Uncharted movie onto a nearby wall.
Asking Ballie to “make the screen bigger” had the circular robot turn around and find a different wall that it could project a larger image onto. The device has built-in speakers for sound.
In addition to voice controls, Ballie also recognizes your “foot presses” onto a virtual button to complete a task, like saying OK or “show me more.” An array of cameras and sensors makes this virtual interaction possible. After being presented two wines and being asked which would pair better with steak, Ballie was able to use your “foot presses” to ask follow-up questions and eventually provide a recommendation.
Samsung isn’t the first company to try to bring robots into the home. For the last couple of years Amazon has sold its Astro home robot that is powered by Alexa and can move around the home, “”=””>but today it only is selling the $1,600 device by “exclusive invitations.” LG has similarly showed off ambitions for home robots at previous CES’, but its unclear when or if those products will ever be available.
Even Apple has been rumored to expand into the smart home, with a report last year suggesting that the company was looking into the space. More recent rumors have claimed that Apple might share more news about new smart home products as soon as March.
