Robots for Your Pets—and More Questionably Useful Smart Home Tech From CES 2024

Smart home tech has long promised to make our lives better. And, in ways, it has. Home assistants like Amazon’s Alexa are pretty good at turning off the lights and reporting on the weather. But they can also leave you fuming, refusing to respond for no good reason or piping up when they haven’t been called upon. (And what are they doing with all that data?) Whether or not they work as well as you want them to, at least they have a slight footprint on your credenza.

The best home tech doesn’t speak unless spoken to, isn’t obtrusive, and ultimately shouldn’t take up more of your time—smart lighting systems, for example, can be set once and then hum along without a thought. At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, however, dozens of brands announced smart home products that are decidedly for a crowd that wants to feel their presence. There were a lot of robots that can help out with your dog.

An AI-Supported Robot by Samsung

The robot-as-domestic-worker, a 1960s fantasy a la The Jetson’s Rosey, has arrived whether we asked for it or not. Ballie, an AI-supported device from Samsung, is a cute, sunny-yellow sphere-on-wheels with an R2D2-esque disposition that can answer calls or play music as it coasts alongside its owner, or welcome guests at the front door. This version—a prototype appeared at CES in 2020—can project images, video, and text messages; while doing yoga, you could respond to a conversation mid-pose, for example, if you needed a distraction. Ballie is also designed to play the role of pet sitter, too, which puts the robot in direct competition for the role of dog’s best friend.

A Roving Smart Home Hub by LG

LG announced the Home AI Agent, another roving helper that acts as a hub for a home’s smart tech. The tiny robot’s design is personified by two legs, two eyes, and a head shaped as if it’s wearing a pair of Beats headphones. It has onboard sensors, cameras, and microphones that gather data about air quality and temperature settings to anticipate the needs of owners. It also studies facial expressions to react by playing music that suits particular moods.

A Smart Home Control Panel by Mui

The Mui Board Gen 2, a sleek wood control panel, is one of the better-looking smart home products we saw. Fixed to a wall, when not lit up, it looks like a coat rack without any hooks or what a nice picture frame might be made of. The modest interface lets you manage home energy settings and EV charging, play music, or link smart home devices, among other features. It also doubles as a digital white board to leave or send messages, and can identify the author based on the handwriting.

A Home Monitoring System by Ultrahuman

Another svelte, compact all-in-one system, the Ultrahuman Home is a cube-shaped monitoring device that reports on everything from air quality, to noise levels, to how much vitamin D is entering your home. Unfortunately, unless you have the means to invest in soundproofing or install floor-to-ceiling windows, the data might turn you into a hypochondriac. At the least, it can remind you that too much blue light from your TV or smartphone before bedtime is bad.

A Robot Companion for Your Pet

The pet category saw new ideas, too, for dogs and cats alike. With many of their owners back in offices, some dogs are likely pretty lonely at home. ORo has a dreamed up a stand-in for human companionship and park walks with the pack, a 15-inch-tall robot that’s designed to keep them company. Via an app, you can have it put out food, throw a ball, call your pet’s name, or dispense medication. If your pet is suspicious of the mail carrier, it likely won’t be a fan of the ORo.

A Self-Cleaning Litter Box by Whisker

The best solutions to hiding litter boxes are when they’re tucked out of sight under a stair or beyond a cutout in a dedicated cubby. This doesn’t completely solve the odor problem (there are few solutions better than regular cleaning), but for those averse to changing out the litter and fine with a rather large tech object taking up space in their home, Whisker’s Litter Robot 4 is a self-cleaning device that looks like it could be an air filter, which it kind of is.

A Voice-Controlled Bidet by Kohler

This year, Kohler says it wants to help you turn your bathroom into a personal spa with a suite of smart products. The Kohler PureWash E930 is a smart bidet that connects with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, allowing you to voice-control your bathroom visits. For anyone uninterested in announcing when they’re ready for the toilet to take care of business—thin walls or otherwise—a remote control is included. At that point, you may as well use the lever.

Related Reading:

9 Home Gadgets From CES 2020 You Won’t Want to Miss