With smart assistants on the rise, the market for connected living is soaring to new heights. Canalys estimates that the number of smart assistant-compatible devices in US homes will increase by 400% over the next three years, reaching 1.6 billion devices across the country by 2022. Samsung presented their vision for the future of connected living at CES 2019, moving beyond voice assistants with a suite of robots designed “to manage activities of daily living.” Following in the steps of Honda’s Empower, Experience, Empathy Robotics Concept from last year’s CES, Samsung’s “companions for the future” are designed to make our lives easier, with human-centric support for everything from health management to personal shopping. Each bot taps into a key growing consumer trend, from elderly care to environmental awareness to frictionless retail.
There's a bot for that; Samsung envisions a future where robots will manage key aspects of our daily lives, from health to retail.
Bot Care provides at-home medical support to help users maintain and track daily health routines. This sleek white robot features a display screen “face” that not only provides information on the user’s vitals – such as blood pressure, heart rate and sleep pattern measurements – but also shows the bot’s “emotions” in an effort to make the bot appear more relatable and compassionate. Bot Care is perhaps best situated to help an aging population manage their health, with the ability to notify users when it’s time to take medication, send health reports to caregivers or family members and alert emergency services in the event of an emergency.
Bot Air is a self-operating air purifier that monitors air quality. Sensors placed throughout the home send analysis to Bot Air, which then automatically navigates to the areas with lowest air quality. Feeding off of the growing anxiety economy – which also sees growing concerns about microplastics and pollution in water – Bot Air taps into consumers’ fear of harmful environmental factors that are invisible to the naked eye, as well as a rising awareness of environmental impact.
Bot Retail, meanwhile, leverages consumers’ growing appetite for frictionless tech-enhanced shopping. This bot can be integrated into various retail environments, from restaurants to stores. The front-facing display allows customers to browse, select and purchase items, which can then be delivered to the customer via shelves on the back of the bot. To better help customers find what they’re looking for, the bot is also programmed to analyze vocal instructions and facial expressions, and has spatial awareness to navigate the environment and guide shoppers to the area or product they’re looking for.
“Samsung is taking connected living to the next level with innovations that are more intelligent and intuitive,” said John Herrington, Senior Vice President, General Manager of Home Appliances, Samsung Electronics America, “allowing people to get things done while enjoying time with family and friends.”
For more CES 2019 coverage read our story on baby tech.
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