Importance before novelty
Historical influence, regional significance, ownership lessons, and underrepresented forms matter more than launch buzz.
Coverage roadmapWhat enters
What enters
the record next.
Catalogue breadth follows evidence and decision utility. This backlog makes likely additions—and the work still required—visible before a dossier is published.
Evidence before completeness
A candidate needs model, region, status, price, service, privacy, hardware, safety, and source context before publication.
Boundaries stay explainable
Research platforms and simple animatronics receive an explicit inclusion decision rather than silently stretching the category.
Historical priority
Pepper
SoftBank Robotics · Japan / international deploymentsA defining social-robot platform whose consumer, enterprise, research, and regional histories need careful separation.
Evidence needed next
Official lifecycle notices, model generations, regional service history, and research-platform documentation.
Historical priority
Jibo
Jibo, Inc. / NTT Disruption lineage · United StatesAn influential home social robot and important cloud-service continuity case study.
Evidence needed next
Original manuals, shutdown and revival records, service scope, and a clear current-status timeline.
Researching
Vector
Anki / Digital Dream Labs · United States and selected marketsA small mobile character with a complex ownership, subscription, SDK, and support history.
Evidence needed next
Current service terms, firmware pathways, account requirements, and independent ownership testing.
Needs regional reviewer
RoBoHoN
Sharp · JapanA mobile-phone and companion-robot hybrid whose Japanese plans, language support, and generations require local-market review.
Evidence needed next
Current Japanese store, plan, privacy, repair, and generation documentation.
Needs regional reviewer
NICOBO
Panasonic · JapanA distinctive knitted social companion with region-specific availability and service terms.
Evidence needed next
Official price, subscription, sensing, privacy, repair, and current availability records.
Needs regional reviewer
Musio
AKA · Korea / JapanA language-learning social robot whose editions, supported services, and market status need disentangling.
Evidence needed next
Edition history, official curriculum/service status, privacy notices, and regional support.
Boundary review
Tega
MIT Media Lab research lineage · ResearchAn important child-facing social-robot research platform but not a conventional consumer product.
Evidence needed next
Platform paper, study populations, hardware revisions, and a rationale for research-directory inclusion.
Boundary review
Joy for All companion pets
Ageless Innovation · Multiple marketsWidely used animatronic companions with growing care research, but limited autonomy and an intentionally simple interaction model.
Evidence needed next
Exact product taxonomy, current manuals, care evidence, and a consistent inclusion boundary for animatronic products.
Researching
Tombot Jennie lineage
Tombot · United StatesA highly anticipated tactile companion whose shipping, preorder, and product-generation facts need precise dating.
Evidence needed next
Fulfilment status, final hardware documentation, return terms, privacy, and independent hands-on evidence.
Missing a candidate?
Propose a robot Propose an entry with evidence.
Include the exact model, region, current status, and at least one public primary source.