Forget about walking your dogs. Samsung patented robot to play with your pets

Samsung has just filed a patent for the design of a robot that could play with your pets. And yes, you’ve read that right: we’ve really come so far in technology that we can now have a robot, so smart that it can clean your dogs’ poo as well.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently published a 24-page document (published on September 19, 2024) that details more on this robot. The South Korean tech giant describes a mobile robot, with a main body, a rotating part that helps it move, and a storage box inside to hold smell substances.

Then, it also has a passage to release the smell and a mechanism to open and close the connection between the storage box and the passage. There’s also a system that directs airflow to help release the smell.

The robot also has sensors to detect nearby objects, and it adjusts the smell diffusion based on how close or often these objects interact with it. And, it also monitors the weight and acidity of the odorous substance and alerts users when a replacement is needed.

“Recently, in addition to those that serve as assistants to increase users’ convenience indoor, mobile robots capable of playing with pets are also being developed,” Samsung says.

But how does it actually play with your pets, though? Well, Samsung also describes the robot’s control method and illustrates how it engages with the pet during playtime.

The controller starts a “touch play” session based on a set time or user preference, and it releases an odor to attract the pet and spins a rotating part. Then, the controller measures the pet’s distance and counts touches, and based on this, it can adjust the odor release to keep the pet engaged.

Design-wise, it does look similar to the now-revamped Ballie, Samsung’s AI-powered house companion that was launched months ago (and a big refresh from its original 2020 version) at the CES 2024 event.

But it’s different. If you look closely, the new robot’s front and back are distinct from Ballie’s, and it lacks the feature on top that controls the Samsung IoT. Functionality-wise, Ballie serves more as an AI-powered home companion that could have access to your appliances, but this new robot seems to be more geared for pets.

“When left alone indoors, a pet may feel emotionally anxious due to loneliness and missing its owner. Accordingly, continuous research efforts have been made to methods for taking care of pets not to experience emotional anxiety even when they are not with their owners,” the company explains the reasoning behind this tech.