LAS VEGAS -- South Korea's two technology giants -- Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics -- presented robot butler services at the Consumer Electronics Show, the world's biggest annual electronics exhibition held in Las Vegas. At the booths of both companies, visitors are exploring how artificial intelligence-based home companion robots can transform their daily lives.
Samsung showcased "Ballie," a robot designed to help its master with chores around the house and loyally protect the residence when human masters are not around. Ballie was first introduced at CES 2020 and the robot butler introduced at this year's electronics show is the revamped version with new advanced features.
According to Samsung, the ball-shaped robot autonomously drives around a house to complete many different tasks. It can also connect to smart home appliances to manage them and learn from its masters' living patterns to offer upgraded personalized services. Ballie can detect the activities of its users and send video clips or snapshots of family members to human companions who are away from home.
Meanwhile, LG has unveiled its Smart Home AI Agent that moves autonomously with two wheels and engages in verbal conversation with humans. The two-legged AI agent collects environmental data inside the house in real time through its camera and controls home appliances.
Demands for AI caretaker robots are rising in South Korea as the number of single households increases. Among some 23.9 million households in South Korea with a population of about 51 million, about 42 percent consisted of people living alone, data released by the country's interior ministry showed. The number of lonely deaths skyrocketed to 3,378 in 2021 from 2,412 in 2017.
Among 4,314 companies participating in the global electronics event held from January 9 to January 12, about 18.3 percent (789 companies) are from South Korea. The number of participating companies has increased by about 170 percent compared to last year's 469.
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