Independent field guideCatalog facts reviewed Jul 14, 2026

Robots,
understood.

A clear-eyed guide to the robots built for companionship—what they do, what they cost, how they handle your data, and who they’re actually for.

Explore all robots Compare models

14: robot dossiers
42: primary sources
53: research records

DOSSIER / 02

Featured dossier02 / 14

Multimodal sensing

Warm body design

GROOVE X · JapanLOVOT 3.0

A warm, needy home companion designed to be cared for.

TouchGazeAutonomyCloud plan

Read the dossier

LAST
CHECKEDJUL
’26

Privacy made visible Sources beside claims Limitations included No affiliate rankings

Explore by relationship

What kind of companion?

“Companion robot” covers very different experiences. Start with the relationship you want, then compare the technology behind it.

Expressive pets

Movement, personality, play, and the ritual of caring for a character.

Therapeutic comfort

Tactile support and structured interaction in specialized care contexts.

Learning companions

Questions, coding, creativity, and hands-on exploration.

Editor’s starting points

Four ways to meet a robot.

View the full directory

Available

01

aibo ERS-1000

The premium robotic dog with a cloud-grown personality.

Animal-inspiredMostly cloudPlan

From: $3,199.99 US, including the initial 3-year AI Cloud Plan
Best for: Expressive pet-like companionship

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Region-limited

02

GROOVE X Social

LOVOT 3.0

A warm, needy home companion designed to be cared for.

WheeledHybridPlan

From: ¥577,500 in Japan
Best for: Tactile, expressive companionship

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Available

03

Moflin

A handheld fur companion whose simulated emotions evolve locally.

HandheldMostly localPlan

From: $429 US / ¥59,400 Japan
Best for: Calm tactile interaction

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Region-limited

04

Intuition Robotics Care

ElliQ

A proactive conversational presence designed with older adults.

StationaryMostly cloudPlan

From: $249 initiation in the US
Best for: Older adults who enjoy proactive conversation

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Expanded index53ROBOTS / 11 CATEGORIES

A wider research lens

Depth where it matters.
Breadth where it helps.

The field guide keeps 14 companion dossiers deliberately deep. A separate catalogue tracks 53 household robots, public demonstrations, care systems, developer platforms, and historical landmarks without pretending every record is equally complete.

Nine lifecycle stagesConcept is not delivery

Claim-level evidenceDemo setting stays visible

Human role disclosedAutonomy ≠ teleoperation

Open the research catalogue

Side by side

Compare the trade-offs,
not just the tricks.

Put interaction, mobility, cloud dependence, privacy, subscription, and availability in one source-aware table.

Compare these three

Signalaibo ERS-1000Loona PetbotMoflin

MovementQuadrupedWheeledHeld

Cloud modelMostly cloudHybridMostly local

TouchHighMediumVery high

PurchasePremiumMid-rangeMid-range

“Mostly local” does not mean every optional feature stays offline.

Companion finder

Find your kind of robot.

Three equally weighted questions. Every result shows its points, trade-offs, and evidence confidence.

Published scoring method

30 points total

Relationship, setting, and ownership each contribute 0–10 points. The displayed fit is the total divided by 30.

Anchors

Scores use the dossier’s 1–5 editorial signals, form, category, price band, cloud model, and camera disclosure. No sales ranking or sponsorship enters the score.

Candidate set

Available and region-limited robots only. Preorder, research, and discontinued entries are excluded.

Question 1 of 3

What kind of company do you want?

Start with the relationship—not the spec sheet.

Revision desk

Recently checked & changed.

Every dossier shows what changed and when its primary sources were last reviewed.

JUL
14aSony · Availableaibo ERS-1000

Rechecked US price, cloud-plan renewal, sensing, and regional privacy notice.

Partial JUL
14EEnabot · AvailableEBO X FamilyBot

Rechecked current store price and clarified local face templates versus remote media.

Partial JUL
14EEnergize Lab · AvailableEilik

Rechecked current official pricing and offline base-hardware claims.

Partial JUL
14EIntuition Robotics · Region-limitedElliQ

Rechecked 2026 membership tiers and clarified non-medical, non-emergency positioning.

Partial JUL
14ELivingAI · AvailableEMO

Rechecked base and GO HOME prices and current product bundle.

Vendor-reported

How this wiki works

Evidence before enthusiasm.

Companion robots are easy to anthropomorphize and hard to compare. We make uncertainty, vendor claims, ongoing costs, and service risk part of every entry.

Read the methodology

01

Primary sources first

Product pages, manuals, policies, and official support notices sit beside the claims they support.

02

Unknown means unknown

We use “not disclosed” when public documentation does not answer the question.

03

No mystery score

Fit signals stay separate so you can decide which trade-offs matter to you.

04

Care claims need care

A companion is not a clinician, caregiver, or emergency service unless its regulated role says so.

Field notes

Read before you bring one home.

Browse all guides

Start here · 3 min

How to choose a companion robot

A practical framework for matching form, interaction style, running costs, and support risk to the person who will live with it.

Privacy · 2 min

The 12-question companion robot privacy check

What to ask before placing always-listening microphones, cameras, accounts, and cloud personalities in a private space.

Technology · 2 min

Cloud AI, local AI, and what happens offline

A plain-language guide to latency, privacy, subscriptions, updates, and the support horizon behind a robot’s personality.

Care & access · 2 min

Evaluating robots for older adults

A humane, evidence-aware checklist for accessibility, consent, caregiver involvement, reliability, and realistic expectations.