Ball with brains: Samsung and Google team up to release Ballie home robot with Gemini AI and projector

Samsung and Google have teamed up to launch Ballie, a soccer-ball-shaped home robot that uses Gemini AI to control your smart home and can project video onto walls. The yellow, ball-shaped robot is designed to “bring AI to life as a friend and true companion,” according to Samsung. The device marks the first time both companies have entered the budding, billion-dollar consumer robotics market.

Image source: samsung

Samsung first unveiled Ballie in early 2020 at the CES tech conference, where it made a splash, but the home robot’s road to consumer adoption has been rocky. Samsung executive vice president Jay Kim said the current device is a “completely new Ballie.” One of the biggest changes is the use of Google’s AI models to understand user commands, connect to Google search, and process data from onboard cameras as it navigates around the home.

Ballie runs on Samsung’s Tizen operating system, which is also used in many of the company’s devices, giving it access to content providers like YouTube, Netflix, and Samsung’s own TV Plus service. The robot uses Samsung’s SmartThings platform to control smart home devices, calendars, and reminders, answer questions, make and receive phone calls, and play videos through a built-in projector. It also uses Samsung’s AI models for features like accessing personal data and the weather.

«“It’s hard to describe a system that can sense, move, and interact as naturally as it does,” says Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. “When you say, ‘Go here,’ it’s actually thinking about how to get there. There’s a lot of magic that goes on behind the scenes to make it work.”

Samsung chose Google Cloud because of its “faith” in Gemini’s capabilities, Kim said. The work marks an expansion of existing partnerships across Android devices, smartwatches, and an upcoming mixed reality headset also due out later this year. He added that the companies are already developing additional features for Ballie, including a software development kit for third-party apps and video conferencing.

Kurian stressed that the partnership with Samsung requires “a lot of customization and optimization […] and this is the only partnership we have with such a personalized experience.”

The device will first go on sale in the US and South Korea and, at least initially, will only support communication in English and Korean.