Little Sophia is a tiny, kid-friendly robot that wants its kind to be a little more human

You can barely swing a cat about the Stuff office without having it wallop a dozen programmable robots, such are their ubiquity. But Little Sophia ($149) is a little bit different, in that she wants you to think of her as human. Loosely based on Hanson Robotics’s full-sized Sophia robot, the 14in mini-her goes for cute, rather than slipping into creepy uncanny valley. Doddering about, she recalls a Gerry Anderson puppet, minus the strings; and the emphasis on storytelling and personality, augmented by facial expressions, tracking and recognition, should bring joy to the faces of your own little ones. Well, assuming they can master programming Sophia (totally to not make her do questionable things), and thereby set themselves up for a long and successful career in STEM and/or robot bothering.

Craig Grannell Contributor

About

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

Areas of expertise

Mobile apps and games, Macs, iOS and tvOS devices, Android, retro games, crowdfunding, design, how to fight off an enraged smart saucepan with a massive stick.