Samsung CES 2020 keynote highlights: Fitness exoskeletons, ball-shaped robots

MANILA, Philippines – Samsung usually saves the announcements of its latest mobile innovations for its annual Unpacked events. This, however, doesn’t mean the South Korean tech giant rolled into CES 2020 without anything to show. 

With “Age of Experience” as its theme, Samsung gave us a glimpse at prototypes and concepts that it claims will transform how we customize our homes, how we build cities, and how we care for ourselves and our families. 

Ballie

Samsung wants to change how you view robots with the unveiling of Ballie, a small, ball-shaped robot that the company says understands and supports your needs. 

Ballie comes equipped with a camera, which it uses to track things around it, including people’s movements. It can follow people around and listen to their commands, as well. 

The company describes Ballie as the next evolution in the so-called internet of things (IoT). Using its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, the company’s rolling robot can help you in your workouts, patrol your home, and control your smart devices, as seen in a promotional video. 

GEMS exoskeleton

At last year’s CES, Samsung showed off Gait Enhancing & Motivating System, or GEMS, an exoskeleton that was developed to help the elderly improve their posture and mobility. 

This year, however, it appears that the device has taken an additional role as a fitness trainer, tracking health and activity data to help you improve your performance. You can wear GEMS with Samsung’s new augmented reality glasses, which allow you to work out with a virtual personal trainer, who can guide you through your workouts. 

Your workout results are then aggregated and analyzed, providing you with some feedback as to how you’re doing. 

Intelligent homes

Samsung promised that smart homes will offer more unique and immersive experiences driven by new innovations in AI and data analysis. For instance, the company’s smart refrigerators can take your workout data and make the proper food recommendations for you. The company’s smart refrigerators can sense what items are inside and suggest recipes that you could prepare.  

Smart cities

Moving beyond homes, Samsung also envisions smart cities utilizing AI, IoT, and 5G to create more convenient ways for how you can interact with your environment. Smart building residents can, for example, call elevators, turn lights on or off, or check for parking slots with a swipe or a voice command. 

Samsung also shared their vision of how they plan to transform urban transportation with 5G technology enabling Vehicle-to-Everything communication, connecting cars to the rest of the city. For instance, your car communicates with the rest of your devices, providing it with real-time traffic information, which you use to coordinate your schedule. – Rappler.com