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Samsung's AI Robot Ballie Returns to CES With a Projector

The robot will follow you around and analyzes your posture to optimize streaming content.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Ty Pendlebury
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Screenshot: Ty Pendlebury/CNET

Samsung has announced an update to its Ballie personal assistant robot, for CES 2024, which now includes a new design, an onboard projector and AI capabilities.

When Samsung first unveiled Ballie in 2020, the device looked like a basketball, but the new one resembles a character from the video game Among Us with its bright colors and square-ish display.

Watch this: Samsung Has a Ballie: AI Robot Helps Around the House

The new version is designed to be a companion, an entertainment device and a roving guard dog with its front and rear cameras. Ballie can follow you around the house, come when called and can even greet you at the door. With its ability to control smart devices like lights and thermostats, as well as answer your questions, it's like an Alexa on wheels, except that it already exists.  

The onboard projector is one of its most interesting capabilities, as it's the first projector to "automatically detect people's posture and facial angle and adjust the optimal projection angle for you." The projector will also calibrate itself for different surfaces before allowing you to stream from YouTube and other sources.

Samsung's robot is the second AI assistant to be announced today after LG's Smart Home AI agent, but Ballie wins points for the better name.

As with most announcements at CES, the pricing and availability of Ballie 2024 are not yet known.

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