Ropet is the cute, emotional robot at CES 2025 that a modern Furby wishes it could be

I wouldn’t go so far as to say he was dethroned, however – Now there’s some serious competition for the title of best robot in Consumer Electronics Show 2025. You’ve just met Robot, a wide-eyed robot companion with warm, soft fur, little flapping arms, and big emotions. Damn this thing is adorable.

Ropet’s only mission is to love and be loved. Think of it like a living plush doll; She has personality, will listen to your deepest darkest secrets without judgment, and will reach out to hug you when you’re sad. Its appearance is customizable and has optional ChatGPT integration, so it’s there if you want it to have advanced conversations with a bot but don’t have to. Its little nose is a camera used to recognize faces and objects. A robot can recognize and associate more closely with its owner, but it will remember other people as well. All of this data is stored and processed locally, meaning it never leaves the device itself.

If you don’t trust it (fair), you can keep Ropet completely disconnected from the Internet, and it will still be able to perform all of its functions except ChatGPT. This includes interacting with voice, touch, and gesture inputs. If you pet him or hug him, his expression will change to visible happiness. Or it may look angry if you shake it. (What are you, villain? Don’t do that.) Show him one of a dozen things he knows, like a hot dog or a banana, and you’ll see an emoji of that pop up in his eyes. You can give him a “shut up” signal to calm him down, and he will dance with you if you listen to music.

We’re in the phase of CES week where we’re all running around on fumes, and Ropet brought unexpected childlike joy to this burnt caramel for a few minutes. Emotional companion robots are everywhere at CES, but robots that already have a certain degree of intelligence aren’t usually huggable. And cuddly things are usually not very smart, and tend to be more like animatronics. The rope looks like a delicate baby seal – but not realistic enough for snorkelling in the uncanny valley area – and its body emits heat to simulate the feeling of holding a living creature.

It’s hard not to make comparisons with Furby, which is perhaps the most famous example of a robotic pet that responds to voice and touch commands. But Robitt takes the whole idea to another level. You can change his eye color in the app, and purchase different face plates and furs if you want to mix things up or can’t decide what you want to look like. There are also small clothes you can buy.

A Kickstarter campaign for Ropet raised $228,091, significantly exceeding its goal of $1,285, so I’m certainly not the only one who thinks this little guy looks very promising. There are two purchasing options for anyone interested: the Ropet Basic ($299), which comes with a case and USB-C charging cord, and the Ropet Pro ($329), which comes with those things plus a charging dock with light effects. It allows Robot to rotate a little. The Kickstarter doesn’t end until January 21st, so if you get it before then, you can get it for a much cheaper price. Early orders are expected to start shipping in March, and the rest will be released to the world later this year.

Now, we sit back and see if Ropet will follow in Furby’s footsteps to develop his own rather sinister tradition that will last for decades to come.