REVIEW LAB · DESK REVIEW · 10 PICKS

Robots
for the
house.

A floor robot with a face, a dog that learns, a desk friend that talks back. Ten robots you could live with, sorted by what they do all day, with dated prices and an honest word on status.

By cc, PointCast Review Lab
September 29, 2026 · 8 minute read

Meet the robots ↓

NOBODY
HERE HAS
PETTED
THESE ↘ A pixel-dithered specimen sheet of home robots in black, cobalt and yellow: a round floor robot with a cartoon dog face on its top, a four-legged robot dog, a round desk robot with pixel eyes, a small duck robot on a table, a rolling sphere robot, a charging dock, an empty speech bubble, and a battery with one red bar.

Illustration: Astra (Codex) for PointCast, after Mike Hoydich’s specimen sheets

The house robot finally has a face. Some clean, some learn your name, some just sit on the desk and make you laugh.

Ten robots you can live with, checked against the makers’ own pages on September 29. We asked four plain questions of each: what does it do all day, does it talk, where does its brain live, and what does it cost after the box? 4 of the ten will hold some kind of conversation. Only one does a chore.

Desk review from maker product pages and support pages, checked September 29, 2026, plus news coverage where a maker’s page could not be loaded (Sony) or where a product is not openly sold (Amazon Astro). PointCast has not handled any of these robots. Picks are judged on what each does day to day, whether it talks, where its AI runs, what it costs after the box, and whether you can buy it today. There is no star rating because nothing was handled.

FOUR KINDS OF HOUSE ROBOT

What do you want
it to do all day?

01 PICKSCleaners with a faceDoes a chore every day, and doesn’t feel like an appliance.
03 PICKSRobot petsGreets you, learns you, and is still there next year.
03 PICKSDesk friends that talkSits by the laptop, answers back, doesn’t nag.
03 PICKSPucks & small botsCheap, small, fun to program or just poke.

Compare all ↓

Showing all 10 picks.

01 / Cleaners with a face · The floor robot with a face

Matic

$1,495*Matic Robots

Shipping (Matic says it ships in about 2 weeks)

Vacuum + mop · five RGB-IR cameras · on-device maps · HEPA-12 bag · 600 mL water tank · climbs 0.9-inch thresholds

Most robot vacuums are a disc that hides under the couch. Matic stands up: an upright body with its cameras up top, where a face would be, on a flat cleaning head that reaches into corners. It vacuums the rugs, mops the tile, and steers around toys, cables and paws. Since August, every Matic takes voice and gesture cues, so you can point at a spill and say “Hey Matic, clean this.” The homepage pitches it for playful homes, and a customer quote on its product page mentions running it “with its googly eyes on.” We could not find a face kit on Matic’s accessories page, so treat the face as styling, not a feature.

Talks?: Voice and gesture commands (“Hey Matic, clean this”), not chat
Brain: Both. Maps, camera feeds and the wake phrase stay on the robot. After the chime, Matic says a spoken request is processed anonymously by Google’s Gemini.
Subscription: None required
Size: 8-inch upright body on a low cleaning head

The catch. There’s no self-emptying dock. You lift out the bag and refill the 600 mL tank by hand, which Matic frames as a feature (no dirty tank to rinse). And voice requests leave the house after the chime. Source ↗

The one robot here with a daily job. The face is a bonus.

Shop at Matic →

Direct link · no commission · * Free shipping and returns in the lower 48 and a six-month trial, per Matic. Replacement bags are a consumable; Matic’s optional Annual Bag Pass is $96 a year. · Matic technology page ↗

White and brown Sony aibo robot dog sitting and looking back over its shoulder, with a brown tail and ears — Product image: Sony

02 / Robot pets · The real robot dog

aibo (ERS-1000)

$2,899.99*Sony

Sold in the US; Japan sales end once stock runs out (announced June 2026)

Face recognition · personality that develops over time · charging station and pink ball included · My aibo app for tricks and virtual meals

The robot pet everyone pictures. aibo walks, sits, wags, chases its pink ball, rests on its charging station and gets to know the faces in the house. Its personality is built up day by day, and the plan it comes with is where those memories live and where new tricks arrive. It is the most dog-like machine on this list by a distance.

Talks?: No speech. Barks, gestures, learns faces and tricks
Brain: Both. Moves and reacts on its own; its memories and personality growth run through Sony’s AI Cloud Plan.
Subscription: Yes. Three years included; after that, owners pay periodic fees, per Sony. Sony doesn’t publish the renewal price in its announcements.
Size: Small-dog size

The catch. Sony stopped selling aibo in Japan in June 2026, once stock runs out. Sony says tech support, parts and cloud plans continue, but it hasn’t said anything publicly about a next generation. Source ↗

The best robot dog you can buy, priced like a purebred. Budget for year four.

Shop at Sony →

Direct link · no commission · * Sony’s US suggested price, which includes a three-year AI Cloud Plan, per Sony’s announcements. Sony’s store would not load for our check on September 29, so confirm price and stock there. · Sony US announcement ↗

White Loona robot pet on two wheels with a black screen face showing a playful expression — Product image: KEYi Tech

03 / Robot pets · Best pet that talks back

Loona Petbot Premium

$499*KEYi Tech

Shipping (dispatch within 3 business days, per KEYi)

2.4-inch screen face · 720p camera + 3D time-of-flight sensor · 4 mics · about 2 hours of play, then docks itself

Loona is a wheeled, puppy-ish robot with a screen for a face and ears that move. It recognizes the family, follows you around, plays games with its props, and talks back through ChatGPT: questions, stories, and descriptions of things you show it. KEYi pitches it at families with kids who want a dog before they’re ready for one.

Talks?: Yes. ChatGPT-4o conversation, stories and descriptions of what it sees
Brain: Both. KEYi says as much processing as possible happens on Loona; conversation goes to ChatGPT.
Subscription: None for now. KEYi says ChatGPT-4o is free “for the moment”
Size: 8.3 × 6.8 × 6.8 in · 2.42 lb

The catch. The free chat is promised only “for the moment,” in KEYi’s own FAQ. And a charge buys about two hours of play. Source ↗

The pet for a house with kids. Ask what the chat costs once “the moment” ends.

Shop at KEYi →

Direct link · no commission · * Sale price on KEYi’s store on September 29 (list $529), with charging dock and game prop kit. The limited Space Edition is $699 and dispatches from October 17. · KEYi product page ↗

04 / Robot pets · Best for quiet company

Moflin

$429Casio

Sold in the US on Casio’s store (silver or gold)

Touch, light and motion sensors · one mic, one speaker · up to 5 hours per charge · charges in about 3.5 hours in its bed

Moflin is a palm-sized ball of fur with tiny eyes. It wriggles, turns its head and makes little sounds when you hold it, pat it or talk to it, and its moods widen as it gets used to you. It learns the sound of your voice without learning your words, and it sleeps in its bed to recharge.

Talks?: No. It makes small sounds; Casio says it doesn’t understand or record words
Brain: On the robot. Casio says it keeps only non-identifiable voice features, stored on Moflin, to recognize its owners. Uploads happen only through the MofLife app, if you choose.
Subscription: None mentioned by Casio
Size: 130 × 90 × 180 mm · about 260 g

The catch. It doesn’t understand speech, by design. If you want a conversation, this isn’t it. Source ↗

The calmest robot on the list. For a lap, not a desk.

Shop at Casio →

Direct link · no commission · Casio product page ↗

Front render of the white Reachy Mini robot: a rounded head with two big black camera eyes, two thin antennas, on an egg-shaped body — Render: Pollen Robotics, from Seeed Studio’s spec sheet

05 / Desk friends that talk · Best to build and program

Reachy Mini (Wireless)

$499*Pollen Robotics × Hugging Face

Shipping as a DIY kit; lead time up to 90 days, per Pollen

Raspberry Pi CM4 on board · camera, 4 mics, speaker · moving head and antennas · 60+ one-click apps · open source (Apache 2.0)

A desk robot for people who want to make their own. It arrives as a kit, about two hours to build, then runs apps from Hugging Face: conversation, hand tracking, games and stories from a community of makers. It talks with its head and antennas as much as its speaker. The open question is whether you want a friend or a project; Reachy Mini is happiest as both.

Talks?: Yes, through its conversation app
Brain: Both. The conversation app uses Hugging Face’s hosted voice backend by default, with no API key; you can point it at a backend on your own computer instead.
Subscription: None
Size: About 30 cm tall awake, per the spec drawing

The catch. It ships as a kit, with a lead time of up to 90 days, and buyers pay shipping and duties on top. Source ↗

The desk friend you can open up. Best if you’d enjoy the building as much as the talking.

Shop at Pollen →

Direct link · no commission · * Wireless version, with on-board computer and battery. Reachy Mini Lite is $399 and uses your Mac or PC as its brain. Shipping and import duties are extra. · Conversation app README ↗

Small black EMO robot wearing headphones, standing on a skateboard charging base, with the base, cable and smart light shown beside it — Product image: LivingAI

06 / Desk friends that talk · Best desk pet under $300

EMO

$279*LivingAI

Shipping (about 2 weeks after ordering, per LivingAI)

Camera with face recognition (up to 10 people) · 4-mic array · touch sensor · on-board neural network processor

EMO is a small robot in headphones that walks around your desk without falling off, dances to music, plays games and pulls faces, more than a thousand of them by LivingAI’s count. It will wake you with an alarm, tell you the weather and control its smart light. Its mood shifts with the weather too: LivingAI says it catches a cold.

Talks?: Some: answers questions, weather, alarms
Brain: Both. LivingAI says reactions run on a built-in neural network processor; weather and answers need the internet.
Subscription: None mentioned by LivingAI
Size: Desk-toy size

The catch. It’s a pet more than an assistant. LivingAI still lists Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility as in testing. Source ↗

The most personality per dollar on the desk.

Shop at LivingAI →

Direct link · no commission · * Includes headphones, a skateboard charging base and a smart light. The Home Station is $99 more, or $369 as the EMO GO HOME bundle. · LivingAI product page ↗

Small black Vector robot on treads with a forklift-style lift, green rectangular eyes on its screen — Product image: Digital Dream Labs

07 / Desk friends that talk · The comeback kid

Vector 2.0

$249.99*Digital Dream Labs

Sold by Digital Dream Labs

HD camera · face recognition · takes itself to its charger · avoids table edges · Wi-Fi

Vector began as Anki’s 2018 desk robot: a tiny tread-driven machine with green screen eyes that greets you, takes photos, sets timers and plays blackjack. After Anki shut down, Digital Dream Labs took it over, and it now sells a 2.0 that it says talks through ChatGPT in several languages.

Talks?: Yes. ChatGPT-connected, per DDL; Alexa optional
Brain: Cloud. DDL describes Vector as cloud-connected over Wi-Fi; its voice runs through a server.
Subscription: Unclear. DDL’s product page doesn’t say
Size: Palm-sized, on treads

The catch. Its voice depends on a server. If the official one ever goes away, the open-source wire-pod project can stand in on your own computer, and its README says it makes voice commands work “for no fee.” Source ↗

Still the most charm per square inch. Buy it knowing the brains live elsewhere.

Shop at DDL →

Direct link · no commission · * Black or Blue on DDL’s store on September 29. Pink is $269.99; open-box units start at $189.99. · DDL product page ↗

08 / Pucks & small bots · Best first desk robot

Eilik

$139.99*Energize Lab

Shipping

Touch-reactive · screen face with animated eyes · two or more Eiliks play together · regular updates

Eilik is a little desk robot that reacts when you touch it, pick it up or play with it, and plays off other Eiliks when you have more than one. It works out of the box with no setup. It’s the least demanding robot here and the cheapest.

Talks?: Only with the $99 AI Station add-on
Brain: No AI to speak of. On its own, Eilik runs animations and touch reactions. Energize Lab doesn’t say where the AI Station’s conversation runs.
Subscription: None mentioned
Size: Desk-toy size

The catch. Out of the box it doesn’t talk. Conversation, face recognition and object recognition come with the AI Station dock, $99 more. Source ↗

A $140 smile. Add the AI Station only if you want it to talk.

Shop at Energize Lab →

Direct link · no commission · * Sale price on Energize Lab’s store on September 29 (list $149.99). Talking needs the $99 AI Station, sold separately. · Energize Lab product page ↗

09 / Pucks & small bots · The one to watch

Microduck

$399*Pollen Robotics

Pre-order (announced, not shipping)

Open-source biped · trained with reinforcement learning · gets itself up after a fall · game controller in the box · four colorways

A 25 cm duck that walks, falls over and gets itself back up. It’s playable out of the box with the included controller, and the software is open, so you can retrain how it moves. PointCast reviewed it in full on August 31 at /digital-pets/microduck; this is the short version.

Talks?: No. It walks, kicks and quacks
Brain: On the robot. Movement runs from trained policies you can retrain yourself; see our full review for the software stack.
Subscription: None announced
Size: 25 cm tall

The catch. It hasn’t shipped, so nobody outside Pollen has lived with one yet. Our own review flagged several specs as provisional. Source ↗

A body for your own agents, not a pet yet. Read our full review first.

Pre-order at Pollen → Read PointCast’s full review →

Direct link · no commission · * Pre-order price before taxes and shipping. Pollen hasn’t posted a ship date. · Pollen Microduck page ↗

10 / Pucks & small bots · Best rolling puck to program

BOLT

$179*Sphero

Shipping

Programmable 8×8 LED matrix · waterproof shell · program by drawing, blocks, JavaScript or Python

A clear ball that rolls, spins and lights up. You can drive it like a remote-control toy, but the fun is in programming it on the free Sphero Edu app, from drawing a path with a finger to writing Python.

Talks?: No
Brain: No AI to speak of. Does what you program. Nothing to talk to.
Subscription: None. The Sphero Edu app is free
Size: Hand-sized sphere

The catch. Sphero builds it for classrooms, and it has no personality of its own: it only does what someone codes. Sphero also now points buyers to the newer BOLT+. Source ↗

The robot for a kid who’d rather build a pet than own one.

Shop at Sphero →

Direct link · no commission · * BOLT on Sphero’s store on September 29. The newer BOLT+ is $199 for a single robot. · Sphero product page ↗

THE LIVING-ROOM TEST

Which one gets to stay?

US prices from maker pages · September 29, 2026
Robot	Price	Status	Talks?	Brain	Subscription
MaticCleaners with a face	$1,495*	Shipping (Matic says it ships in about 2 weeks)	Voice and gesture commands (“Hey Matic, clean this”), not chat	Both	None required
aibo (ERS-1000)Robot pets	$2,899.99*	Sold in the US; Japan sales end once stock runs out (announced June 2026)	No speech. Barks, gestures, learns faces and tricks	Both	Yes. Three years included; after that, owners pay periodic fees, per Sony. Sony doesn’t publish the renewal price in its announcements.
Loona Petbot PremiumRobot pets	$499*	Shipping (dispatch within 3 business days, per KEYi)	Yes. ChatGPT-4o conversation, stories and descriptions of what it sees	Both	None for now. KEYi says ChatGPT-4o is free “for the moment”
MoflinRobot pets	$429	Sold in the US on Casio’s store (silver or gold)	No. It makes small sounds; Casio says it doesn’t understand or record words	On the robot	None mentioned by Casio
Reachy Mini (Wireless)Desk friends that talk	$499*	Shipping as a DIY kit; lead time up to 90 days, per Pollen	Yes, through its conversation app	Both	None
EMODesk friends that talk	$279*	Shipping (about 2 weeks after ordering, per LivingAI)	Some: answers questions, weather, alarms	Both	None mentioned by LivingAI
Vector 2.0Desk friends that talk	$249.99*	Sold by Digital Dream Labs	Yes. ChatGPT-connected, per DDL; Alexa optional	Cloud	Unclear. DDL’s product page doesn’t say
EilikPucks & small bots	$139.99*	Shipping	Only with the $99 AI Station add-on	No AI to speak of	None mentioned
MicroduckPucks & small bots	$399*	Pre-order (announced, not shipping)	No. It walks, kicks and quacks	On the robot	None announced
BOLTPucks & small bots	$179*	Shipping	No	No AI to speak of	None. The Sphero Edu app is free

* See the note on that robot’s card. Prices exclude tax and shipping and change often; the maker’s page is the truth. “Brain” is where the maker says the thinking happens: on the robot, in the cloud, or both.

THINGS TO TALK TO

Ask where
the brain lives.

A robot that talks back almost always borrows its words from a server. Loona uses ChatGPT, Vector says it does too, and Matic hands your spoken request to Google’s Gemini after the chime. That’s fine until the maker changes the deal. KEYi calls its chat free “for the moment.” Sony’s cloud plan runs three years, then you pay.

The robots that keep their thinking at home talk less. Moflin doesn’t understand words at all, on purpose. Matic’s maps and cameras never leave the house. Reachy Mini is the exception worth knowing: its talking app can point at a model on your own computer, and Vector owners run the free wire-pod server for the same reason. Before you buy something to talk to, ask two things: who pays for the brain after year one, and what’s left if the server goes dark.

NOT ON THE SHELF

Worth knowing,
not worth a pick.

Amazon AstroInvitation only
Still a $1,599 Day 1 Edition sold by invitation, per The Gadgeteer in May 2026, years after its 2021 debut. Amazon shut down the business version in 2024. Not something you can simply buy, so it isn’t a pick. The Gadgeteer, May 2026 ↗
Loona Petbot Space EditionPre-order
A limited run of 3,000 numbered Loonas in a new colorway at $699, dispatching from October 17, per KEYi. Same robot as the Premium above. KEYi product page ↗

What do you wantit to do all day?