The Samsung Ballie will be that robot that follows you around the house

Samsung has announced plans to finally release the eagerly anticipated Ballie this summer. In development since the start of the decade, the cute ball-like robot is an AI-powered companion designed to help answer questions around the house.

Samsung’s latest robot is much humbler than those we’ve seen teased by the likes of Tesla and Xiaomi in recent years. Those companies are promising humanoid droids that can serve as your personal butler, while Samsung’s BB-8-looking gadget will simply act as your personal assistant. Want to know what the weather is like? Just ask Ballie. Curious about what wine goes best with tonight’s dinner? Ask Ballie. Need tips on how to get in shape? Ballie has those, too. It’s an ultra-capable smart speaker that will move around your home with you.

Of course, even the best smart speakers have one big limitation—they’re stationary. You need to be within earshot of the device to ask it a question. Ballie, on the other hand, is equipped with two wheels that allow it to roll alongside you. It also features a built-in microphone and speaker, so that it can listen to and answer your questions, as well as a camera and projector, to take in the world around it and share visual information on the floor or wall in front of it.

Since making its debut at CES in 2020, Samsung has made clear that Ballie’s most impressive features were all powered by AI, specifically its proprietary language models. The company aims to give these abilities a boost by partnering with Google Cloud. The eventual production model will utilize the latter’s Gemini multimodal capabilities to “adapt its behaviors and responses in real-time.” That means that the Ballie won’t just be choosing answers from a generic list, it will be tailoring them specifically to you and your needs. Unsure about the outfit you’re thinking about wearing to a party? Thanks to its upgraded AI, the robot can take a look at what you are wearing and suggest what accessories or colors might give it more pop.

Interested in adding a robot to your household? Samsung promises Ballie will be available in Korea and the U.S. this summer. We’ll have to wait until closer to release to find out how much it will cost, but if priced right it’s easy to imagine the rolling droid hanging around.

This story was first published on Robb Report USA. Featured photo by Samsung