In many major cities, the delivery robots taking over sidewalks bear facial expressions and names of their own. In turn, some observers have reacted with affection<\/a> and sympathy<\/a> for the machines as they trek along: They\u2019re helping them navigate through debris<\/a>, pushing crosswalk buttons for them<\/a>, even wishing them luck on their journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n As AI-powered robots grow more common in households and public spaces, tech developers are racing to figure out how to make them appealing to humans. Lately, that has meant designing robots to have cute, almost petlike appearances.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you were a robot developer or designer, you would certainly not want your product to be threatening. You would want people to feel comfortable,\u201d said Ellie Sanoubari, a robot designer and postdoctoral researcher focusing on human-robot interaction. \u201cYou would want to signal that it is friendly, that it is not going to harm anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n In the past, robots have typically been confined to factory environments where people needed technical expertise to operate them, Sanoubari said. Now, she predicts that a growing class of robots geared toward human interaction will become more prevalent in everyday spaces.<\/p>\n That could lead to design choices such as larger heads, big eyes and the ability to make \u201ccute\u201d noises \u2014 all of which can evoke \u201cdeeply seated biological responses in us,\u201d Sanoubari said.<\/p>\n DoorDash, the largest food delivery service in the U.S., created its delivery robot Dot with that in mind. The autonomous vehicle, which launched in the fall, is built to navigate urban roads at speeds of up to 25 miles an hour. But it\u2019s also designed in a way that fosters \u201chuman acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs humans, we are social animals. We have dogs, we have cats, we have all kinds of pets,\u201d said Ashu Rege, the vice president of autonomy for DoorDash. \u201cAnd Dot and robots like Dot want to be part of that family, so to speak. I think they absolutely have some kind of character or persona.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the company built Dot to be round because studies have shown that humans tend to prefer rounded elements over boxy, square ones. Its big, circular eyes were another key design feature: Dot \u201clooks\u201d in the direction that it plans to steer, and it makes eye contact with pedestrians to signal for them to cross. The robot also makes sounds to announce its arrival, or simply to alert a nearby human to its presence on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n Rege said he hopes such features help create acceptance and trust as people get used to Dot\u2019s characteristics and learn to gauge its intent. DoorDash\u2019s proprietary robot currently operates in the greater Phoenix area, with plans to expand.<\/p>\n The company is not alone in trying to make its robots more humanlike. A California startup called Interaction Labs recruited Oscar-nominated \u201cToy Story\u201d writer Alec Sokolow to help design its interactive lamp, called Ongo. The desk lamp takes the form of a wide-eyed robot that speaks in a cartoonish voice and moves like the Pixar lamp.<\/p>\n Like a chatbot, Ongo learns about its human users over time and can act as a companion or an AI agent. But unlike a chatbot, it can also bounce up and down in excitement or physically peer over somebody\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n Sokolow, who leads Ongo\u2019s creative design, said his team wanted to create a piece of physical tech that was \u201csomewhere between a pet and a concierge.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a character on \u2018The Jetsons,\u2019 if you know the old TV cartoon from the \u201960s. It is definitely a desk lamp, but I also see it as a character,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the real thing that we\u2019re trying to do is create a little personality.\u201d<\/p>\n But as AI agents take on a physical presence in robots, Sanoubari warned that the same risks of emotional dependency people face with chatbots could translate to robots too. Robotic AI-powered toys and petlike companions have already raised a flurry of concerns<\/a> around data privacy, loose guardrails and inappropriate conversation topics for kids.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that we can do is to be very transparent about the machine nature of the technology, especially when we\u2019re dealing with vulnerable populations like children, or when robots are being used for elderly care and a lot of these things,\u201d Sanoubari said.<\/p>\n She added that even robots that have no reason to be cute are often \u201ccutesified\u201d by their owners anyway, pointing to case studies of people naming and decorating their Roomba vacuum cleaners.<\/p>\n \u201cSo humans are cute that way,\u201d she said. \u201cHumans develop their own attachment. They kind of assign meaning to things.\u201d<\/p>\n Memo, an anthropomorphic robot designed to handle household tasks like loading dishwashers and folding socks, has a look that\u2019s reminiscent of Baymax, the beloved personal companion robot from Disney\u2019s \u201cBig Hero 6.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Dot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260220-Dot-robot-2-rs-808e90.jpg\")
Dot was built to be round because studies have shown that humans tend to prefer rounded elements over boxy, square ones.DoorDash<\/p>\n![\"Ongo,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260220--Ongo-the-robotic-desk-lamp--rs-5d23b0.jpg\")
Ongo, the robotic desk lamp.Ongo<\/p>\n![\"Memo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260220-Memo-robot-rs-c6f4e6.jpg\")
Memo robot was designed to handle household tasks.Sunday Robotics<\/p>\n
![\"Memo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260220-Memo-robot-2-rs-20180f.jpg\")
Memo has a look that\u2019s reminiscent of Baymax, the beloved personal companion robot from Disney\u2019s \u201cBig Hero 6.\u201dSunday Robotics<\/p>\n