Companion robots
Realbotix opens reservations for Echo companion humanoids, with deliveries planned for late 2027
Short answer: Realbotix, a US maker of lifelike social robots, announced on 26 October a new robot line called Echo, aimed at companionship, education and wellness. According to the company's Business Wire release, customers can reserve a unit with a $199 deposit on Realbotix.com, and the first production run is limited to 225 Tabletop units and 25 Full Body units for delivery in the second half of 2027.
The company lists two models. Echo Tabletop is a desktop companion with 17 degrees of freedom, priced at $11,950 and weighing about 25 lb. Echo Full Body has 39 degrees of freedom and "fluid upper-body movement", is priced at $59,950 and weighs about 88 lb, the release says. Both use the company's silicone-based synthetic skin on the face, and the full-body model also on the forearms and hands. Buyers choose between four characters, including the existing Aria persona.
Realbotix says Echo can connect to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini and speaks more than 100 languages. Running the robot requires a subscription to its configuration app, starting at $19.99 a month. An optional on-device vision system called Vinci adds facial recognition, emotional-cue recognition and gaze tracking, and the company says conversation histories and face templates are stored locally rather than sent to Realbotix. Chief executive Andrew Kiguel called the robots "companions that support, educate and care for people".
For other recent launches aimed at homes rather than factories, see our report on AiMOGA's Mobo family companion. Factory-focused coverage is collected on our pilots and deployments page.