If you want a robot at home this year without a five-figure budget, look past full humanoids. Smaller companion robots, desktop robots, and programmable bipeds are what you can actually afford now.
Be clear about what you want: company, entertainment, a learning project, or home monitoring. Each one points to a different kind of robot.
Buying criteria
- What it actually does (talks, follows you, takes pictures, gets programmed)
- Whether it needs a subscription or cloud account to keep working
- Battery life and charging setup (dock vs cable)
- How often the maker ships updates, and how long the company has been around
- Privacy: cameras, mics, and where the data goes
Also see: Home | How to Choose | Best Humanoid Robots | Affiliate Disclosure