The first presentation I attended at CES this year was from Nvidia. It set the tone with Nvidia ACE and a host of technologies that are creating a robotic future that is rapidly becoming our present.
Robotic fast-food restaurants are beginning to pop up already, and at CES this year, folks were showcasing and talking about the first big wave of robots coming from a variety of vendors, one of which is designed to compete with the coming Tesla robot.
What I continue to find fascinating is that this robotic wave was first presented at Dell Tech World. Since then, Dell has had one big robotic project, Concept Luna, that was incredibly compelling but has yet to make it out of the concept stage.
Let’s talk robots this week. Then, we’ll close with my Product of the Week, the new well-priced graphics card from Nvidia, the RTX 4070 Super.
Yarbo
(Images Credit: Yarbo)
I have a Yarbo, and it is impressive. It is a modular yard robot that can morph from an autonomous snow blower (the configuration I have) to an autonomous lawn care robot. It uses a gaming controller to map out the areas to be covered, has a decent-sized battery, and can handle most snow and lawn care tasks, including spreading liquid or granular pesticides or fertilizers.
Since it’s track-driven rather than wheel-driven, watching this little guy work is fascinating. It has a power docking station, so it’s always ready for the task at hand.
Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo
(Image Credit: Ecovacs)
The Ecovacs Deebot X2 is an unusual combination of a robotic vacuum and a handheld stick vacuum. What makes this interesting is that it has one of the most advanced AIs and a square design to get into corners better. The Deebot X2 integrates the regular vacuum functionality within the robot’s base and includes a hot water mopping function. Additionally, it features a base where the robot can empty its dirt bin and refill from.
The one at CES had a stick vacuum accessory to get to places, like stairs, where the robotic vacuum could not go. Priced at around $1,700, this vacuum isn’t cheap, but it looks far more capable than any robotic vacuum that I’ve used or tested so far.
Samsung Ballie
The Samsung Ballie was initially introduced back in 2020. Since then, it has been updated to do things like manage Samsung home appliances or project videos. This is one of many AI-driven mobile digital assistants that are expected over the next several years as the market explores just what people want in a mobile digital assistant.
I’m not sure I’d want this if I had a large dog that liked to play fetch, as I expect it would become a chew toy. As it buzzes around the house, it sends video updates on what it sees and helps with home activities like exercising. It learns from you over time and is one of the first early examples of how AI in the home will be coming to market.
Parkie
While Parkie appears to be designed for parking structures or lots, I think this thing would be really handy for those of us with very tight garages. It looks like a big skateboard that goes under the car, lifts it, then drives the vehicle to an open space, leaving it there like a robotic parking attendant.
Using Level 4 autonomous driving technology — which seems to be overkill given this doesn’t need to drive around town or on freeways — could be a great way to reduce car damage in tight places. I wonder if you could get it to work with an enclosed car trailer, as I’ve seen a lot of show cars damaged when being put on or taken off a trailer. It’s a cool robot I could use in my own garage.
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