Ecovacs LilMilo Robot Dog Offers Emotional Interaction but Lacks Realistic Movement

Ecovacs, a Chinese robotics company known for robotic vacuum cleaners, has launched LilMilo, a small robotic dog designed to provide emotional companionship rather than perform household tasks. Introduced at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, LilMilo is now available in Israel through the importer Ronlight. Over a three-week trial, the robot dog impressed with its lifelike appearance, warm touch sensors, and ability to express emotions such as happiness and anger through tail wagging, blinking eyes, and barking. It uses an advanced language model to recognize 21 emotional states and learns user habits, aiming to develop a personalized interaction experience.

Despite its cognitive capabilities, LilMilo’s physical functions are limited; it cannot walk or move its limbs, only its head and tail. Weighing about 1.4 kilograms and resembling a small poodle, it is durable and child-friendly. The robot comes with a charging bed that doubles as a stylish home accessory. However, the setup process is complex, involving Wi-Fi connection, facial and voice recognition, and occasional technical issues.

LilMilo’s personality evolves slowly through user interaction, with five possible personalities available. The accompanying app tracks the robot’s daily experiences, such as receiving pets or hearing music. While the robot dog attracted curiosity and even real dogs reacted to it, it falls short of replacing a real pet due to its lack of mobility and full physical interaction.

Security concerns arise from LilMilo’s nose camera, which could potentially be hacked to invade privacy, though Ecovacs emphasizes its products’ security. The robot is priced at around $600 internationally, with an expected Israeli retail price of about 2,999 shekels, making it a niche gadget for early adopters rather than a mass-market product. The reviewer concludes that while robotic dogs like LilMilo offer a glimpse into future human-robot relationships seen in countries like Japan and South Korea, they are not yet ready to substitute real pets.