No, AI won’t be coming for your soul or turning you into a battery any time soon, and the robots certainly aren’t taking over, at least not from what we saw at CES 2024. There were certainly advancements, and if what we saw at this year’s biggest tech showcase is any indication, bipedal legs are long gone, and balls are in.
Then, of course, wheels are always popular. We saw a slew of autonomous machines meant to act as couriers or stock drivers. However, the dream is still to see a mannequin-like device stroll around with the purpose of helping us humans in our everyday lives—perhaps with the three laws of robotics rattling around in their silicon brains.
Instead, the bots we have now are still relatively rudimentary. There were plenty of roving autonomous lawnmowers and pool cleaners of questionable capabilities from the likes of Aiper and BeatBot, not to mention advancements in robot vacuum tech. We still haven’t seen Tesla’s Optimus bot in person for more than a year, so in the meantime, it feels like we’re still waiting on a real Arobot breakthrough.
However, the next frontier of robots are going to be—ahem—well rounded. Take Samsung’s Ballie, for example. The little round droid first debuted several showcases ago, but the company finally offered us a glimpse of its full capabilities. Gizmodo had the chance a full demo of the device as it helped a guy in his daily tasks, whether that was reminding him of his one-year anniversary, then helping him call up the flower shop to buy his significant other a random assortment of azaleas. Rather than being a replacement for your phone’s digital assistant, it includes an in-built projector that turns any surface of your house into a screen to add a display component to all Ballie’s capabilities.
There are also smaller companies trying to make cute bots a reality. Take the France-based brand Enchanted Tools and its Mirokai bot. It’s a robot with a cartoon, animal-like LED face that looks around its environment with a constant, almost alien-like curiosity. Rolling around on its gyro-stabilized orb, it’s meant to be a helper bot for hospitals or other care facilities with its ability to carry around trays or other items (albeit much more slowly than your average human can move).
Despite all the modern innovations, some of our favorite bots weren’t even meant to showcase the advancements of modern autonomous tech, one of our favorite displays was a simple, miniaturized Robot Wars demo layed out for tech press struggling after long days hoofing it through the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Sometimes, the best way to unwind after listening to an obscene amount of robot promotion is to literally dismantle an opponent’s bot with large, serrated teeth.
Enchanted Tools’ Mirokai
Mirokai first debuted at last year’s CES, but the little bot that could is still one of the cutest examples of semi-autonomous tech the annual showcase has to offer. Mirokai is supposed to work in care facilities with articulated hands able to hold trays or other simple tools. Its animated face borders on the uncanny, but it’s hard not to feel a small inkling of connection to the curious LED cartoon animal after getting used to the shifting expressions.
Samsung’s Ballie
We’ve mentioned Ballie quite a few times this CES, mostly because it’s such a simple (extremely kickable) design that makes some incredibly lofty claims. Its debut video showed how it could keep track of your stranded-at-home animals while their owners are away, but in a demo, Gizmodo also saw how Ballie could be a big replacement for your phone’s digital assistant. However, Ballie will still need to compete against the likes of Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, all of which we expect will get major AI upgrades this year.
iYU Massage Arm
Imagine if one of the robot arms you’ve seen on an assembly line was offered the task of taking the knots out of your shoulders. That’s essentially what the French startup Capsix Robotics is offering clients with the iYU. It’s a “hands-free massage bed” using machine learning to hit all the muscles in your back no matter your body type, at least according to the company. You’ll need to put your full trust in the robot with your face down on a cushion, which we imagine could be a big nightmare for anybody who’s sweated in bed after dreaming about the bit robot takeover.
AI Life’s Humanoid Robots
The startup AI Life is working on several AI-based projects, but its mannequin-like robots are perhaps its weirdest creation. They’re currently at the deepest pits of the uncanny valley, and though the company has created full robots with skin suits, what they showed at CES 2024 was a far bit weirder. The bot glitched for a few seconds and spoke with two voices at once, like something out of a horror movie.
Keplerbot
This astronaut-looking robot wasn’t walking around the show floor, unfortunately. Still, Kepler Robotics’ Kepler Forerunner K1 sure did look the part, even though we didn’t get to see it in action.
Mobinn Delivery Bot
The Korean startup Mobinn’s last-mile delivery debut doesn’t seem like much at first until you learn it uses a flexible-wheel design to help it navigate up and down stairs, all while keeping a package at a nice horizontal level. Just note if you get stuck behind one of these things as you try and walk up the stairs to your apartment, you could be in for a long wait.
Bobcat Rogue X2
There’s nothing like calling an autonomous front loader “rogue” to set the tone for this big concept machine from Doosan Bobcat. It’s an all-electric construction machine made for lifting and moving earth. Still, it also looks very, very intimidating to the average layman, especially when you realize there’s no human behind the wheel.
WeFace
We have not been able to get over just how odd the WeFace is, especially considering that last year, it was mainly billed as a way for execs to be “present” at a Zoom meeting without actually being there in person. This robot incorporates AI to talk back and forth with people. However, it really had a hard time actually talking directly at us or even remaining in the conversation without rudely turning away.
Unitree H1
This “general-purpose” robot has all the weirdest parts of various strange bot designs all rolled into one. If it isn’t the fisting hands, it’s the empty void where the face should be. Unitree is the same company famous for its “kick the robot” video and its flamethrower dog bot. The company wasn’t bullying its H1 design during CES, but it did have a whole slew of live demos available to see it walking around in its tight polo shirt.
Miniature Battle Bots
After seeing so many crazed robots at CES, we wished to have them duke it out in a no-holds-bar slugfest; the best bot wins. No, we couldn’t get our wish, but we did get the next best thing. One company was hired to spread a little robot carnage during the annual Pepcom press event, and it was just the right amount of carnage to help us get a little bit of revenge for all of about two minutes.
