LG’s rolling robot wants to keep your kittens entertained
Sphero-like robotic butler can control your TV and pull double duty as a security camera
Rolling out the red carpet will have a whole new meaning if you get this robotic butler to do it; LG’s Rolling Bot just made an adorable debut at MWC alongside the G5.
It’s a smartphone-controlled ball ‘bot that rolls around the room, beaming live footage from its integrated camera back to your handset. Sound familiar? Yep, it’s a lot like Sphero’s range of rolling robots.
Sphero and BB-8 are basically toys, and so is the Rolling Bot to an extent – you can race it around the house at top speed, scaring the bejesus out of your pets, but it’s got some more helpful uses too.
The integrated camera doubles as a security device, keeping an eye on your house when you aren’t around.
An IR blaster inside also lets it control your TV, along with other gadgets around your house.
It’s the laser pointer that should get cat owners excited though. You can fire it out to give your cats something to chase, then move it about to keep them from getting bored while you’re not at home. There’s even a built-in microphone and speaker so you can listen in (or shout out) through your phone.
The white colour scheme and football-ish size should mean it won’t get stepped on by mistake, but the spherical servant can’t tackle stairs.
It falls under LG’s new LG Friends accessory range, meaning it’ll "just work" with the G5, but other phones will be able to get in on the action through a separate Friends app (that’ll play nicely with the 360 CAM too).
No word on if you’ll be able to automate patrol routes for it just yet, or whether it’ll actually launch outside of Korea. It’s still a work in progress (the model we saw was hand-built in time for MWC) so there’s no news on a release date either.
MWC 2016 › All the news from Mobile World Congress
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
