Consumers interested in home robots, but not willing to pay up yet

Two-thirds of American consumers (65%) are interested in owning an advanced home robot, according to Altman Solon’s first annual Home Robotics Survey, but most aren’t yet ready to pay the required high prices. The TMT sector consultancy polled over 1,000 US consumers on their perceptions and preferences in home robotics.

The survey found that over two-thirds (68%) of Americans are unwilling to pay more than $5,000 for a home robot. This is significantly less than the target price of $20,000 for Figure AI’s Figure 03 general purpose humanoid model.

As such, affordability is the top barrier to adoption – with 25% unwilling to purchase a home robot at any price. Although lack of familiarity with the technology is a significant contributor to price reticence, even among those knowledgeable about humanoid robots, price expectations are still anchored in the $1,000 to $5,000 range.

Although familiarity might relax price expectations in the future, the technology might simply remain a luxury product for high-income households – barring extreme gains in cost efficiencies.

“Our data indicates that the home robotics industry is at a crossroads: as the technology improves, manufacturers can either focus on affordability and mass adoption or remain ultra-premium and market  to a select few,” the Altman Solon report notes. “If willingness to pay rises alongside decreasing costs, consumer home robotics may become a frequent sight in our homes sooner than we might think.”

Familiarity with robotics remains low among consumers, with 85% reporting only moderate familiarity or less.

In terms of comfort level with the emerging tech, approximately half of respondents feel comfortable with humanoid robots, while the other half have reservations. The primary issues cited are physical danger and intimidation rather than ethical concerns.

In terms of feature preferences, American consumers prioritize tasks in home chores and safety. The top five features for robots are cleaning, provision of security surveillance and alerts, cooking, laundry, and reception of deliveries.

On the design side, respondents greatly prefer humanoid designs. Among humanoid models, consumers prefer visually and haptically soft models instead of taller and more imposing models, such as Tesla’s Optimus-style robots.