Samsung unveils new ‘AI robot companion Ballie’ that follows you around home after predecessor blasted as ‘creepy’

Samsung's new Ballie is pitched as a friendly assistant that follows you around the home at your request.

It can greet you by using its lights and cameras to shine messages onto the floor or wall.

Ballie can mind your pets and send you updates about them while you're at work.

A video demonstrating the robot was shown to a media audience at CES.

It shows Ballie greeting its owners, helping them stay fit, and assisting them with work by projecting content onto the wall.

The robot is also shown to be communicating with its owners while minding a dog and sending live updates and pictures to a smartphone.

Ballie's original announcement in 2020 was met with mixed reviews.

Some spectators thought the robot was cute while others found the fact that it was shown watching its owners sleep unnerving.

Pricing for Ballie and a release date has not yet been announced.

Samsung said in a statement: "Ballie has been revamped with new advanced features to help users intelligently navigate their lives.

"Ballie acts as a personal home assistant, autonomously driving around the home to complete various tasks.

"By connecting to and managing home appliances, Ballie can provide a helping hand to users in many situations — continually learning from users’ patterns and habits to provide smarter, more personalized services."

The company added in a news release: "[Ballie is] capable of interacting with other smart devices to provide customized services, such as taking care of bothersome tasks or projecting images and videos on walls so that users can view key information for their daily lives such as weather or other relevant content wherever they are."

Samsung isn't the only brand to release an AI companion bot at CES 2024.

LG unveiled a similar gadget that wheels around the home and helps with chores as well as monitoring your mood.