LG's new robot helpers are cute and friendly AF
LAS VEGAS -- LG just announced a new line of robot helpers that are pretty damn cute.
The Korean company showcased two Hub Robots, an Airport Guide Robot and an airport cleaning robot at CES Wednesday.
Sort of like a robot butler, the Hub Robot can control your Wi-Fi connected appliances, so it can preheat your oven and tell you when your food is done.
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Also available in a smaller "Mini" version, the Hub Robot has an interactive display that shows information about what it's doing, like checking the weather or starting your next load of laundry.
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It uses Amazon's Alexa voice recognition technology to listen to commands and has facial recognition abilities to distinguish between different members of the household.
The robot is also trained to use simple body language like nodding when answering questions and keeps track of when people enter and leave the house.
LG didn't announce pricing or availability for the Hub Robot, so no word on when we might actually see it in homes.
The company also announced a bigger "Airport Guide Robot" meant for use in -- you guessed it -- airports.
Looking like a distant cousin of Wall-E's Eve, LG says the Airport Robot can clean floors, scan airport boarding passes, provide arrival and departure information -- all while scooting around and looking cute as hell.
Seriously, just looking at the Airport Guide Robot washes away the anxiety normally associated with airports.
The Airport Guide Robot, which knows four languages, will be deployed first in South Korea's Incheon International Airport sometime this year.
LG is also releasing an Airport Cleaning Robot, which is an industrial-sized robot vacuum cleaner also meant for airports. The future of air travel — or waiting for it, at least — just got a bit brighter.
Additional reporting by Raymond Wong.
Topics CES
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
