A €15,000 humanoid robot that already walks and talks

A robot that walks, talks and costs €15,000: nobody is saying a word

Last month, a humanoid robot that walks, holds conversations and costs €15,000 came onto the market. With no press conferences or big announcements, the product has taken its place on the tech shelf with just the right amount of noise: the kind made by comments from those who have already seen it. The price turns heads, but not because it is expensive — rather because it is cheap for what it offers.

It is made in China, like almost everything in this category. And the story repeats itself: when hardware gets cheaper, the discussion shifts from usefulness to aesthetics. Here, the aesthetics are exactly the problem. Some describe it as the embodiment of the uncanny valley: so close to human that it provokes rejection. The naturalness of its movement and conversation is not enough to disguise the metal and plastic where skin is expected.

This is no small matter. If in 2025 a robot with these capabilities costs €15,000, how much will it cost in three years? Those who have reacted to the price applaud the entry into a phase of democratization of personal robotics. The more skeptical point out that the warranty lasts less than the fascination: the product is presented with no safety net, and with the planned obsolescence we already know from the rest of consumer electronics.

Behind the jokes lies a serious question: what happens when a machine capable of holding a conversation and walking becomes affordable. The first to answer will be those who are right now deciding whether the outlay is worth it. That is why the silence is so striking: the product is here, it costs as much as a small car, and nobody is saying anything. Well, almost nobody.