Still looking for last-minute holiday gifts? 15 ideas for robot fans (2013)

If you still have holiday shopping to do, these gift ideas from the Robohub team will be sure to please the robot fans in your life. From stocking stuffers to once-in-a-lifetime gifts, you can find something for every budget and beyond. Have fun!

MyKeepon is the commercial version of Keepon Pro, a social robot made for research purposes. It’s great fun and also great value, you can buy it for around $25. Available on Amazon.

A novel from The New York Times bestselling author Daniel Wilson, set in the near-future where technology and humanity clas in surprising ways.  Available in hardcover and paperback, from ~$15 on Amazon.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

With €15 and some winding-up, these robots will pass the salt and pepper around the table for you! Available on Amazon.

Let a robot make your tea for you – the arms even move up and down to fit any size mug. $12. Available on Amazon.

After years of research into fast prototyping and bio-inspired robots, and following a successful crowdfunding campaign, Dash robotics now offers a kit for the very small and fast Dash robot, a foldable hexapod that you can easily built. The kit will cost $69.99 and you can pre-order it here.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

Littlebits are kits of modular electronics that snap together magnetically: you can create and reconfigure an almost infinite number of combinations of electronics, actuators and sensors using the various ‘bits’ provided in every kit. It’s ideal for kids because they can learn and create without the worry of soldering. Starting price is $99 for the base kit, and of course you can combine parts and bits for more complex projects. Available on Amazon.

Robosapiens X is an update of the popular Robosapiens series. In its latest iteration it can be controlled by your iOS or Android smartphone. ~$55. Available on Amazon.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

Robotgrrl’s very cute social robot is now available after a very successfull crowdfunding campaign. You can buy some of its parts now, and the full kit is estimated at ~$150-200.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

Goldie Blox is designed to make science and engineering concepts appealing to young girls. From $29.99. Available on Amazon.

For ~$150 you can buy a Thymio II, a small, very well designed and capable robot and educational tool. It is released under open source hardware license, was developped along with ASEBA programming language, and you can program it either with a visual graphic interface or via text programming.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

Planning to overindulge this holiday season? Gift yourself to a New Year’s resolution: this friendly robot weightloss coach helps you track your eating habits and exercise.  $199 plus monthly subscription fee.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

With Makerbot’s digitizer you can create accurate 3D models of almost any object. You can buy the Digitizer on Amazon for $799 or try the Replicator Mini at $1375 to print anything in 3 dimensions.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

Sphero 2.0 is a slightly more expensive but much more capable version of the original Sphero. You can control it as a mobile robot, use it as an input device, play games with all the available apps or write your own programms. You can buy it for $99.99 and for an additional $14.99 you can also buy a “nubby” protective cover. See on Amazon.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

The CH3-R hexapod robot uses 18 servos (3 for each leg), is made from aluminum and Lexan, and is equipped with an onboard programmable controller. $694.47.

By far the most popular quadcopter, the affordable and easy to use AR.Drone costs around $400 and can be optionally equipped with a GPS flight recorder. See on Amazon.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

This is the most advanced iteration of iRobots vaccum cleaning robot. $699.99.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

The popular open source mini-submarine is now upgraded. Buy the kit for $849.
See previous coverage on Robohub

Barobo’s modular robotic system. Prices start from ~$200 and you can select the number and type of components you need for your projects.

eBee is the most advanced UAV offered by senseFly. It’s not only an aircraft but a complete system that provides professional aerial mapping. Price upon request.
See previous coverage on Robohub.

Get your own personal bartender: Monsieur is capable of preparing 300 different drinks. It’s suggested retail price is $5000 but you can pre-order it now for $3999.

iRobot offers a version of its latest telepresence robot for research purposes. Ava Mobile Robotics Platform is capable of autonomous navigation in real world environments and can be developed into a robot for various applications (some idea concepts shown in the image above). Learn more here.

UBR is the first robot with intelligence, manipulation and mobility in this price-range (below $50,000). Read more about it here. See previous coverage on Robohub.

Need more ideas? Take a look at these posts:
8 robotic toys for the holidays
It’s time to think about robotic Christmas gifts

Ioannis K. Erripis joined the ROBOTS association in early 2011 as a news reporter and now leads all technical aspects of the Robohub project, including website design, implementation and branding.

Ioannis K. Erripis joined the ROBOTS association in early 2011 as a news reporter and now leads all technical aspects of the Robohub project, including website design, implementation and branding.