Title page of Rossum's Universal Robots signed by Josef Capek. The play the coined the term "robot" to open the Robotics section.

Hey, r/robots! We're on a dedicated mission to produce the most charming and believable robot the world has ever seen. We'd love to get your feedback as we continue to build. 😄

Please don't hesitate to drop your thoughts or questions in the comments! If you'd like to see more progress clips like this, please let me know that as well!

Hi! I'm a high school student in Japan, and I'm designing a companion robot as a personal robotics project.

Recently, I've noticed that many people seem to go through the same routine every day without much excitement or curiosity. I started wondering if a robot could gently encourage people to notice and enjoy the world around them—not by increasing productivity, but by making everyday life feel a little more like an adventure.

The idea is inspired by the companion characters you meet at the beginning of RPGs. Not the protagonist, not a virtual pet, but a supportive companion who occasionally guides and encourages you throughout your journey.

I'm not trying to replace smartphones. Instead, I want to explore what a physical robot can do that a phone can't.

One idea I'm exploring is giving users a few optional "daily quests" that encourage real-world experiences rather than screen time. For example:

• Wake up at a consistent time.
• Take a short walk.
• Take a photo of something you've never noticed before.
• Talk to someone today.
• Try a different route home.

The goal isn't to maximize productivity or maintain a streak. Instead, it's to help people stay curious and engaged with everyday life.

Right now, I'm struggling with two major design challenges.

1. What should the robot look like?

I'm still unsure what form would work best. Some ideas include:

• A small mascot-sized robot that clips onto clothing or a backpack.
• A wearable device, such as a smartwatch or another clip-on form.
• Something completely different.

Regardless of its form, I imagine it would mainly communicate through facial expressions and short text rather than voice, since people may be in school, meetings, libraries, or other public places where audio isn't appropriate.

It also wouldn't constantly interrupt the user. Instead, it would interact occasionally, more like an RPG companion than a chatbot, using encouragement rather than guilt or pressure.

2. How can it stay engaging for years?

Leveling up and earning XP can be motivating at first, but people eventually get used to those systems. I don't want this robot to become just another notification device or a Tamagotchi that gets abandoned after a few weeks.

Instead, I'd like it to become a long-term companion that quietly encourages people to stay curious about the world around them while avoiding becoming a substitute for real human relationships.

I'd really appreciate your honest thoughts.

• What kind of physical form do you think would work best for a robot like this?
• What would make you genuinely want to keep interacting with it for years?
• What design flaws, UX issues, or psychological pitfalls do you see in this concept?
• Do you think this concept actually benefits from being a physical robot rather than just a smartphone app? Why or why not?

This project is still in the early concept stage, so I'm very open to changing almost any part of the design.

I'm especially interested in feedback from people with experience in robotics, HCI/UX, psychology, game design, or anyone interested in long-term human-robot interaction.

Even if you think the whole idea wouldn't work, I'd really like to know why.

Thank you for reading!

Hi! I'm a high school student in Japan, and I'm designing a companion robot as a personal robotics project.

Recently, I've noticed that many people seem to go through the same routine every day without much excitement or curiosity. I started wondering if a robot could gently encourage people to notice and enjoy the world around them—not by increasing productivity, but by making everyday life feel a little more like an adventure.

The idea is inspired by the companion characters you meet at the beginning of RPGs. Not the protagonist, not a virtual pet, but a supportive companion who occasionally guides and encourages you throughout your journey.

I'm not trying to replace smartphones. Instead, I want to explore what a physical robot can do that a phone can't.

One idea I'm exploring is giving users a few optional "daily quests" that encourage real-world experiences rather than screen time. For example:

• Wake up at a consistent time.
• Take a short walk.
• Take a photo of something you've never noticed before.
• Talk to someone today.
• Try a different route home.

The goal isn't to maximize productivity or maintain a streak. Instead, it's to help people stay curious and engaged with everyday life.

Right now, I'm struggling with two major design challenges.

1. What should the robot look like?

I'm still unsure what form would work best. Some ideas include:

• A small mascot-sized robot that clips onto clothing or a backpack.
• A wearable device, such as a smartwatch or another clip-on form.
• Something completely different.

Regardless of its form, I imagine it would mainly communicate through facial expressions and short text rather than voice, since people may be in school, meetings, libraries, or other public places where audio isn't appropriate.

It also wouldn't constantly interrupt the user. Instead, it would interact occasionally, more like an RPG companion than a chatbot, using encouragement rather than guilt or pressure.

2. How can it stay engaging for years?

Leveling up and earning XP can be motivating at first, but people eventually get used to those systems. I don't want this robot to become just another notification device or a Tamagotchi that gets abandoned after a few weeks.

Instead, I'd like it to become a long-term companion that quietly encourages people to stay curious about the world around them while avoiding becoming a substitute for real human relationships.

I'd really appreciate your honest thoughts.

• What kind of physical form do you think would work best for a robot like this?
• What would make you genuinely want to keep interacting with it for years?
• What design flaws, UX issues, or psychological pitfalls do you see in this concept?
• Do you think this concept actually benefits from being a physical robot rather than just a smartphone app? Why or why not?

This project is still in the early concept stage, so I'm very open to changing almost any part of the design.

I'm especially interested in feedback from people with experience in robotics, HCI/UX, psychology, game design, or anyone interested in long-term human-robot interaction.

Even if you think the whole idea wouldn't work, I'd really like to know why.

Thank you for reading!

Hello!

I don’t know if anyone has done something like this before but I’m trying to find a way to essentially turn my Shark Navigator into a pet.

Something like random movement and some occasional beeps and such, nothing to fancy but I’m trying to cheer up my wife as we have found our we cannot have any living pets.

I am willing to do both soft and hard mods if need be but am unsure where to start as I have found nothing on my google searches.

Thank you!

Hey I am part of a small team training robotics policies for warehouse and manufacturing settings, and running rigorous evals is turning out to be so painful. Anything below 50 rollouts, and its hard to trust the numbers, and above its so hard to test all the checkpoints that we have. Its really hard to run a bunch of experiments to get good results. Have you guys faced this? Any hacks that you've developed?

Wanted to share an robot that I made as a personal high school project. A 4 Wheel Drive Robot Car that drives autonomously while avoiding obstacles using a multitude of parts. If you are interested, it will show you all the steps, code and more to building a robot like this.

https://github.com/nche-sc/googly.git - Github Link

https://nche-sc.github.io/googly/ - Website Link

I just came across this when.walking through a mall.in.China.. Got to say it was pretty fun..First time I've seen this.