The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is scheduled to start this year on January 5, Thursday in Las Vegas and last until the end of the new year's first full weekend. LG has joined Samsung in teasing new products before the yearly trade show by announcing a speaker collar and floating speaker. It will also reportedly unveil three bots including the Hub Robot that seems like a mobile version of Amazon Echo.
All three bots are "non-cleaning" units. The set also includes a commercial robot at airports and hotels that shares travel information with humans, and what seems to be a robot lawn mower, according to TechCrunch. LG explained the bot will take care of yards and gardens.
The Korean electronics giant has already launched some robotic vacuum cleaners. They include the Rolling Bot that was introduced at last year's Mobile World Congress (MWC).
Scant details about the new robot trio are known. The Seoul-based company, however, has explained the Hub Robot is a personal assistant and simple smart home device.
LG reported the three robots will also include artificial intelligence (AI). It is still unclear how close it will be to Alexa-like features used to order a Domino's pizza or Uber ride.
The corporation has already announced the SmartThinQ Hub. This Echo-like smart speaker later added Alexa functionality so the Hub will probably look like the round HOM-BOT but work as a digital assistant instead of a robot vacuum.
LG's machines will be able to navigate around complex spaces and figure out the best path to do tasks. They are helpful robots. Some people, however, are worried machines could one day take over spaceships like the HAL-9000 supercomputer in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey."
The fast development of smart homes and Internet of Things (IoT) devices is changing people's everyday lives in the Digital Age. Smart pitchers, toasters, and fridges could one day lead to robot helpers like Rosie in the animated series "The Jetsons."
In related news, cars will also be featured at CES 2017. Automakers including Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai will reportedly show off new smart car and self-driving technology, according to USA Today.
Tim Bajarin is president of market researcher Creative Strategies. He explained that vehicles are the largest connected devices people own, and car makers show their latest projects at CES.
Here's a demo of LG Hom-Bot: