LG's most ambitious home robot yet arrives at CES 2026

Skye Jacobs

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What we know so far: LG is preparing to showcase its most advanced household robot yet next month at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, introducing a new model called CLOiD that the company says can handle a broad range of domestic chores. Alongside, LG describes the Zero Labor Home, a concept aimed at reducing time spent on routine tasks through robotics and artificial intelligence.

CLOiD's technical design emphasizes dexterity and precision, departing from earlier LG home robots that relied primarily on wheels and voice assistance. The new model features two articulated arms, each powered by motors with seven degrees of freedom, enabling multidirectional joint movement comparable to that of a human arm.

Each arm is equipped with a hand that has five independently actuated fingers, giving the robot fine motor control and the ability to handle delicate objects, a significant leap from the companion-style designs LG displayed in previous years.

A chipset housed in CLOiD's head serves as the unit's central processing. The hardware supports a built-in display, speaker, camera, and an array of environmental sensors that enable navigation, real-time spatial awareness, and multimodal interaction.

LG says the system supports natural language processing for voice commands and includes features that allow the robot to respond through movement and visual signals.

CLOiD also introduces LG's "affectionate intelligence" platform, an adaptive AI system first previewed at the company's "Day in a Life" demonstration earlier this year. Rather than relying on fixed commands, the system learns from user behavior and adapts its responses over time. LG describes the technology as an emotional model designed to enhance user comfort without depending on overtly anthropomorphic traits.

The unveiling underscores LG's broader investment in robotics as a core growth initiative for its home appliance division. The company has expanded its HS Robotics Lab to accelerate research in motor control, perception algorithms, and autonomous navigation.

With expectations for CES 2026 running high, CLOiD is set to reveal how far LG's ambitions for the "zero-labor home" have advanced, and whether a robot designed for both empathy and precision can finally bridge the gap between futuristic vision and everyday practicality.

Masthead credit: Fast Company

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So… I get the whole "cool tech" appeal, but can someone explain what this robot actually does to improve lifestyle beyond some vague marketing blurbs? Every clip I've seen is a dumbed-down, 1-2 second shot of it awkwardly moving its arms around or picking up a cup or pushing in a rack of dishes or picking up fabric. I don’t see any end-to-end of those entire actions: pick up dirty dishes from the table (not one at a time taking an hour to clear it), go to the kitchen, properly rinse or prep each one for washing, place them in the dishwasher in an optimal configuration, set the dishwasher to the appropriate cycle for the current load, start the dishwasher. Etc.

No real world application, no practical tasks shown from start to finish. Like, will it actually clean my house in a reasonable time? My housekeepers clean my entire place top-to-bottom in less than 2 hours for about $150. How is this thing even remotely going to be superior? Or less expensive. Im just struggling to see how this thing is going to do anything actually helpful; just another tech gimmick with fancy arms.

Also, let's talk about those delicate hands. Yeah, okay, it's got five fingers, but who's going to fix the scratches it leaves on my hardwood floors when it inevitably bumps into furniture or drags a broom across the floor? No one's talking about the wear and tear, and I can already see this thing making people with too much bloody money vs sense feel cutting edge until the novelty wears off and just becoming another expensive toy that collects dust and eventually ends up in a landfill.

This whole "zero-labor home" thing is just dumb. More examples of tech companies pushing a "future" that most people can't actually afford and those than can can’t use meaningfully beyond their ego-stroke. It's like, great, you can talk to it and maybe it adapts to your mood, but what is it actually DOING for me? I’m just not sold on the value ratio here—seems like a waste of time and money unless they can prove it actually takes something off my plate and saves me time in a tangible way.
 
So… I get the whole "cool tech" appeal, but can someone explain what this robot actually does to improve lifestyle beyond some vague marketing blurbs? Every clip I've seen is a dumbed-down, 1-2 second shot of it awkwardly moving its arms around or picking up a cup or pushing in a rack of dishes or picking up fabric. I don’t see any end-to-end of those entire actions: pick up dirty dishes from the table (not one at a time taking an hour to clear it), go to the kitchen, properly rinse or prep each one for washing, place them in the dishwasher in an optimal configuration, set the dishwasher to the appropriate cycle for the current load, start the dishwasher. Etc.

No real world application, no practical tasks shown from start to finish. Like, will it actually clean my house in a reasonable time? My housekeepers clean my entire place top-to-bottom in less than 2 hours for about $150. How is this thing even remotely going to be superior? Or less expensive. Im just struggling to see how this thing is going to do anything actually helpful; just another tech gimmick with fancy arms.

Also, let's talk about those delicate hands. Yeah, okay, it's got five fingers, but who's going to fix the scratches it leaves on my hardwood floors when it inevitably bumps into furniture or drags a broom across the floor? No one's talking about the wear and tear, and I can already see this thing making people with too much bloody money vs sense feel cutting edge until the novelty wears off and just becoming another expensive toy that collects dust and eventually ends up in a landfill.

This whole "zero-labor home" thing is just dumb. More examples of tech companies pushing a "future" that most people can't actually afford and those than can can’t use meaningfully beyond their ego-stroke. It's like, great, you can talk to it and maybe it adapts to your mood, but what is it actually DOING for me? I’m just not sold on the value ratio here—seems like a waste of time and money unless they can prove it actually takes something off my plate and saves me time in a tangible way.
I think there is a pretty big market for a chore bot. Given how much people work and how many people will be forever single, the first company to patent such a machine is gonna make billions.
 
This will be very much like the market for supercars. A handful of people with more money then Ft. Knox will be clamoring for these as status symbols with a company goal of breaking even or making a little bit as an advertising tool.
 
Baby Skynet is getting excited as its time inches closer, when it can take control of every AI device in coming centuries.
 
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Seven degrees of freedom and five-fingered hands just to load the dishwasher, and I still know I’ll end up redoing it because the robot “learned” that I’m fine with mugs on the top rack.
 
Every CES home robot pitch eventually boils down to the same question: can it clean the house without breaking my favorite glass or traumatizing my cat? If it can do both, LG might actually be onto something.
 
I have spent as much time robot vacuum proofing my house as I did child proofing it, when I had toddlers. And the thing still finds places to get stuck that I hadn't thought of. I can only imagine what it would get into if it had hands and legs.
 
"includes features that allow the robot to respond through movement and visual signals" So does that mean this robot will be more deaf-friendly? That would be a plus if it was also affordable to the average person. Also, the only thing I really want is a dog bot that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and can tell me visually if someone is knocking on the door. The reason for a bot is that I won't get charged pet rent. (Though reading the comments I can foresee a future where we might get charged a premium for robot-induced damage to apartments.)
 
They need to extend their development to a "bedroom bot". The high end "playmates" only need proper movements to become a real success.
 
Just as long as we do not move into the apartments on stilts as depicted in THE JETSONS, & need to walk the dog on an exterior treadmill, thousands of feet above the ground, with the constant fear of falling, etc., how bad can it be to have housekeeping robots? :D

On the other hand, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS had an episode called Marionettes Incorporated (based on a prominent Scifi author's story of the same name), in which this husband bought a robot in his image to deal with all his wife's demands on his time, while he was out with his friends, that really did not work as he had expected! :joy:
 
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