I just came from an LG press conference for CES 2026, which was billed as a “world premiere” and gives the impression that something new and exciting will be coming soon (although it turns out that everything that was talked about was already revealed in the press release).
But it was clear where the focus of the event was: Cloid (or CLOiD, if you spell it the way LG wants to call it), a prototype home robot on wheels designed to show the future of our lives.
The idea is simple enough and is another step towards realizing the futuristic world that people in the 50s imagined we would live in today. One where we no longer have to worry about household chores as we have machines to do all of that. (I remember an episode of The Jetsons where George had his teeth brushed very vigorously by two robot arms. I hope that never happens.)
Cloid looks a lot like the robots in the mind’s eye of those science fiction writers from 75 years ago: a long wheelbase, slow movements, but impressive mobility in the hands and arms. It’s LG thinking about where we might go in the future.
Of course there was the predictable sketch: an LG manager comes onto the stage where Cloid is standing at a washing machine. He gives the robot a wet towel because it was raining outside (even though he’s bone dry… it must have been an incredibly effective towel).
He asks Cloid to take care of it, to which the robot responds by taking the cloth and slowly turning towards the washing machine, which automatically opens its door. The robot slowly (but precisely) places it in and the door closes itself. It makes sense that the door opens automatically… after all, the world LG paints is about devices communicating with each other. But we were sad that we couldn’t see the robot trying to break the door open with its fingers.
(The other option would have been to have a washing machine on wheels that comes over to say hello and try to pick up your clothes when you get home after the rain, like a strange puppy. That would have made less sense.)
It was a nice demonstration and was probably taken step by step to the absolute limit to eliminate the possibility of anything going wrong. The last thing LG wants is a robot that doesn’t work, as the headlines would have been terrible at this early stage of robot development.
So it’s just a robot?
But I had a strong feeling that this was the earliest possible glimpse into how robots work in the home – after all, this Cloid prototype can’t pick things up from the floor. It cannot even bend below knee level. It is designed to be very slow to ensure the safety of pets and children.
It may seem limited compared to the countless robotic demonstrations we see popping up these days (e.g. one that plays tennis almost like a pro), but the amount of technology in Cloid is still incredible: there’s a display, speakers, cameras, tons of sensors, and generative AI powering the voice.
You have to look beyond this slow, brooding robot to understand what LG was actually trying to say: it’s symbolic of the connection we think these brands need to make AI a “thing” in the home, Cloid being the physical example of this. An oven that can brown your croissants the way you want. A robot that knows what you like to wear and when. Then go beyond Cloid: AI that listens and learns your habits; For example, change the cooling to suit your usage, not your codes.
And the design of the robot itself – even though it has HUGE hands (and they do, dear reader, scare me), they were clearly designed with fine motor skills in mind and the arms have an impressive range of motion. LG has put a lot of emphasis on developing actuators (a key component in robotics) through its robotics design arm – the Axium actuator has gotten a surprising amount of stage time, showing that this is partly where LG sees its future.
At this year’s CES, it seems like every brand is trying to position itself at the forefront of robotics and AI. To LG’s credit, it just put a face to its efforts.
