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LG says its CLOiD home robot will be folding laundry and making breakfast at CES

The company’s vision for a “zero labor home” sounds convenient in a dystopian sort of way.

The company’s vision for a “zero labor home” sounds convenient in a dystopian sort of way.

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LG CLOiD Image 1
LG CLOiD Image 1
Lots of time to think about the robot uprising while folding laundry.
Image: LG
Terrence O'Brien
is the Verge’s weekend editor. He has over 18 years of experience, including 10 years as managing editor at Engadget.

LG teased that it would be showing off a new robot for a “zero labor home” at CES. We now have a bit more detail on what to expect. The company says that its CLOiD home robot can fetch milk from the fridge, put a croissant in the oven, and even do some laundry, including folding and stacking clothes.

CLOiD isn’t the first laundry-folding robot we’ve seen, it’s not even the only one at CES this year — SwitchBot’s Onero H1 will also be able to tackle your hamper. LG’s does seem particularly impressive, at least on paper. While the Onero looks like someone stuck some arms on Stop & Shop’s Marty, CLOiD has two fully articulated arms with seven degrees of motion mounted on a torso that can tilt and bend.

Its head looks quite a lot like its Q9 robot, minus the handle, and will be able to communicate through spoken language and facial expressions. (Getting side eye from an annoyed robot is truly the future.) But another big selling point will be CLOiD’s ability to integrate with your smart home appliances. It’s basically a smart home hub with hands, but its support for ThinQ and ThinQ ON allows it to work particularly seamlessly with LG products. (No surprise there.)

Now whether or not anyone actually wants to have a robot wandering their home that they can boss around, or if they’ll even be able to afford such a thing, remains to be seen. But LG is clearly hoping that we’re all yearning for a mechanical butler / maid / chef / personal trainer.

CLOiD being a dutiful robot servant and rolling towards the oven to heat up your precious croissant.
LG CLOiD robot putting a croissant in the oven.
Why yes human, now that we’ve clogged your arteries with a buttery croissant for breakfast, lets get that heart rate up with some exercise.
One machine loading dishes into another machine.
LG CLOiD humanoid home robot folding laundry and plotting your demise.
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CLOiD being a dutiful robot servant and rolling towards the oven to heat up your precious croissant.
Image: LG
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