Buddy
Limited evidenceRead the findings →A knee-high wheeled robot with a cartoon face, sold to schools, care services and businesses. Its best-known job is letting sick children join class remotely. It's sold by quote only, with no public price or spec sheet.
Updated
See the alternatives below, or switch market.
Where it sits in Blue Frog Robotics’s range
- Buddy (2015 home edition)Family robot crowdfunded in 2015, delivery badly delayed
- BuddyThis model
- Buddy for TED-iSchool telepresence package for pupils who can't attend
Feedback
What we know
Blue Frog Robotics describes the robot and its business packages, and Blue Frog Robotics explains its part in France's TED-i remote-schooling programme, with quotes from pupils and parents that Blue Frog picked. In 2019, IEEE Spectrum and Engadget reported that the crowdfunded home version was three years late and that Blue Frog was asking backers for more money. Nobody independent has reviewed the current Buddy hands-on, so treat everything here as the maker's account.
A classroom stand-in for sick pupils
Blue Frog Robotics describes 1,750 Buddy robots in TED-i, a French education ministry scheme that lets children who are in hospital or at home long-term take part in class. The pupil connects from a tablet, steers Buddy around the room, signals moods or asks to speak, and can follow classmates at break or on trips. Blue Frog chose the family quotes, but the scheme is the clearest real use for Buddy.
Sold as projects, not boxes
Blue Frog Robotics offers Buddy with solutions for education, inclusion, older people and reception, plus accessories and skins, through a quote request. It also promotes an open Android-based kit so developers can build apps. What you get depends on the package and setup, so ask exactly which apps, training and support are included before you compare it with anything else.
A troubled home launch
IEEE Spectrum reports that more than a thousand backers pledged money on Indiegogo in 2015 for a family robot due in September 2016. It didn't ship. In 2019 Blue Frog apologised and asked backers to invest more, with deliveries planned from April 2020, as Engadget also reported. We haven't been able to confirm whether every backer eventually got one.
Our take
Should you buy the Buddy?
Best for: Schools and care services with staff to run a supported robot project. Skip it if: You want a robot for an ordinary household.
for schools, hospitals, care providers and businesses that want a friendly robot as part of a supported project, bought through Blue Frog. For a home companion, Loona is a playful robot pet, LivingAI's EMO is a small desk character, and Enabot's EBO X suits checking in on family remotely.
Buddy is a 60cm rolling robot from Blue Frog Robotics in France, with a screen for a face that shows big eyes and moods. It began as a crowdfunded family robot for the home, was badly delayed, and has since become a platform sold to organisations. Its best-known job is France's TED-i scheme, where pupils stuck at home or in hospital drive a Buddy around their classroom from a tablet to join lessons and chat with friends.
Blue Frog's site offers a quote request, with packages for education, inclusion, care of older people and reception, plus an Android kit for building your own apps, but no public price or spec sheet, not even a battery figure. Everything known comes from Blue Frog and old news coverage, so this describes what Buddy is rather than how well it works. Ask exactly which apps, training and support a package includes.
Before you buy
The questions people ask about this one
Can I buy one for my home?
Not in the usual way. Blue Frog Robotics sells Buddy through a quote request, with packages for schools, inclusion, care and reception, and there's no public price. The home version crowdfunded in 2015 ran years late, as IEEE Spectrum reported. If you want a family robot, look at the alternatives below.
What does it record, and where does that go?
In TED-i, Buddy streams the classroom to a pupil's tablet and shows the pupil to the class, as Blue Frog Robotics describes. Blue Frog's product page doesn't say what's stored or where it goes Blue Frog Robotics. A school or care provider should get data-handling terms in writing before using it with children or patients.
Is it suitable for young children?
It's used with them. Blue Frog Robotics says the TED-i robots mainly serve primary pupils aged 5 to 11, who control Buddy from a tablet. That's a supervised school setting, though. Blue Frog doesn't publish any guidance on children using it unsupervised at home Blue Frog Robotics.
What happens if the company stops supporting it?
With Buddy, that's a fair worry. Engadget reported in 2019 that Blue Frog needed more money to launch, after missing its promised delivery date by three years. It still sells to organisations Blue Frog Robotics, but get support, spare parts and software updates agreed in any contract.
Alternatives
Other companion robots to compare.
Loona
Why consider it: An expressive rolling robot pet for families that you can buy now.
The compromise: It's more pet than practical helper, and it can't stand in for a pupil in class.
EBO X
Why consider it: A self-navigating robot with a camera and two-way talk for remote family check-ins.
The compromise: It's for home monitoring, not physical tasks or homes with several floors.
EMO
Why consider it: A small desk character built for companionship, games and personality.
The compromise: It stays on a desk, so it can't roam a room or keep an eye on a home.
Specs
Full specifications
Each specification names its source. Manufacturer claims are not independent test results; unconfirmed figures are labelled.
Owner reviews
Do you own the Buddy?
Tell people how it’s held up: cleaning, maintenance, faults and support. Owner accounts are shown separately from independent reviews.
Sources
Where this page’s findings come from
Sources
- IEEE Spectrum: Buddy the Social Robot Is Somehow Not Dead Yet ↗News
- Engadget: Creators of social robot Buddy need more money to finally launch ↗News
- Blue Frog Robotics: Buddy robot for inclusion and the Ministry of National Education ↗Manufacturer
- Blue Frog Robotics: Buddy: companion robot powered by emotional AI ↗Manufacturer
Videos
- Robot Enthusiast: Demostration of Buddy Robot with Blue Frog Robotics CEO at CES2016 ↗
- Frederic BOISDRON: ROBOT BUDDY DE BLUE FROG ROBOTICS : : Unboxing / Déballage ↗
- Search YouTube for Blue Frog Robotics Buddy ↗Search results may include company demonstrations or similar models. Check the source and model name; a demonstration is not an independent performance test.