Sharp starts preorders for Poketomo, a hand-sized AI chat robot

Sharp Japan has opened preorders for the Poketomo (ポケとも), an AI chat robot designed to be a daily companion, which was unveiled in August 2025. Its name is derived from the Japanese words for 'pocket' (ポケット) and 'friend' (ともだち).

The hand-sized robot (SR-C01M-W) can be ordered for 39,600 yen (~$270) from the Sharp Cocoro online shop. A monthly subscription plan of 495 yen (400 conversations, ~$3.40) or 990 yen (800 conversations, ~$6.80) is required to power its OpenAI-powered features over 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 connections.

The robot is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 CPU coupled with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage running on an unspecified OS. The 1,070 mAh battery is designed to power the unit for a full day, and takes 100 minutes to recharge. Two arm motors and two face motors along with belly LED lights, a microphone, a speaker, and a 5 MP camera provide the Poketomo with the ability to sense and respond to its owner and environment with motion and expressive voice tones.

Like any modern AI chatbot, the Poketomo can answer a wide-range of questions, from the weather to the news. The system is designed to be a daily chat companion, so owners can talk about personal feelings and thoughts with the robot. Owners should know that OpenAI does analyze and record chats. Poketomo can recall past conversations and summarize them as diary entries.

A synchronized Poketomo smartphone app will also be released, allowing the conversations to continue even when the robot is left at home, perfect for owners who aren't complete hikikomori. 

Readers who want something more fun that can dance to tunes might want to look at this robot on Amazon.