Home robots that fold laundry and bake bread, humanoids (human-type robots) that walk on two legs and work in factories, and “robot assistants” equipped with organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens for faces.

At “CES 2026,” the world’s largest home appliance and information technology (IT) exhibition opening in Las Vegas, United States, on the 6th (local time), the outlook is that visitors will be able to glimpse a near future in which artificial intelligence (AI) permeates the physical, real world—from households to factories—across the areas most closely tied to everyday life. It will show, just one year later, how “physical AI,” which demonstrated its potential at last year’s CES, is being applied in reality.

This year’s CES will host more than 4,300 companies from over 160 countries. This marks a smaller scale compared with last year, when more than 4,800 companies participated. Korea will be represented by 853 companies, the third-largest national group after the United States (1,476 companies) and China (942 companies).

● ‘Liberation from housework’ home robots

Korean companies are putting forward physical AI at this year’s CES. On the 5th, LG Electronics will unveil and demonstrate “LG CLOiD,” a home robot that assists with household chores. The company explained that LG CLOiD is being developed to achieve the ultimate goal of its home appliance business: “enhancing life’s value through liberation from housework.”

LG CLOiD has an upper body with a head and two arms and a lower body with wheels. By adjusting the angle of its back, it can vary its height within a range of 105–143 cm, allowing its arms to easily reach objects on the floor or in high places. Its two arms boast a range of motion comparable to human arms, and it features five individually movable fingers on each hand. The head houses the robot’s “brain” chipset, a display, speakers, a camera, and various sensors, and it is equipped with voice-based generative AI, enabling communication with human language and facial expressions.

LG CLOiD can prepare breakfast for users busy getting ready for work by taking milk out of the refrigerator according to a pre-set meal plan and placing bread in the oven. It can gather and hand over items needed for work, such as car keys and a presentation remote, in advance. After the user leaves for work, the robot can independently run the washing machine and organize laundered towels. When a cleaning robot is operating, it can also clear obstacles from the cleaning path.


● AI remains the core theme this year

Hyundai Motor Group will use this CES to unveil for the first time the “next-generation electric Atlas research model,” a humanoid robot developed by its subsidiary Boston Dynamics. With joints that can rotate 360 degrees, this model is capable of natural walking and can perform fully autonomous actions in work environments. Hyundai Motor Group plans to systematically train Atlas to suit the group’s manufacturing environments, accelerating the realization of human–robot collaboration.

Samsung Display will present small concept robots that use OLED as a face and communicate with humans via AI. One representative example is the “AI OLED Bot,” a compact AI robot equipped with a 13.4-inch OLED where its face would be. At this CES, the robot is expected to demonstrate a “robot assistant” role on a university campus by guiding students to lecture rooms and providing information on professors, assignments, and class cancellation plans.

Meanwhile, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, is scheduled to appear on the CES stage for a second consecutive year through “Nvidia Live” on the 5th. Last year, he put forward physical AI as a key theme, and attention is focused on whether he will present a new theme this year. On the same day, AMD CEO Lisa Su, who will deliver this year’s CES keynote address, is expected to introduce changes driven by AI across multiple domains, including enterprise workplaces, devices, and servers.

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