Josh Malcolm
Founder & Editor, AnkiCozmoRobot
I research and compare companion robots and coding toys from the seat I actually sit in — a parent teaching his own kid to code, looking for honest answers the marketing copy never gives.
I started AnkiCozmoRobot for a simple reason: when I went looking for honest, thorough information about companion robots and coding toys for my own family, I couldn’t find it. Most of what’s online is either thin affiliate filler or marketing copy dressed up as a review. I wanted something better — for myself, and for other parents making the same decisions.
How I approach these reviews
I want to be straight with you about what I do and don’t do here. I’m a researcher, not a hardware tester. I don’t claim to have personally owned and bench-tested every robot on this site. What I do is gather and compare information from manufacturer documentation, owner communities, technical specifications, expert coverage, and verified user feedback — then synthesize it into something genuinely useful, so you can see how these products actually compare without wading through a dozen tabs and a hundred contradictory opinions.
When a claim on this site is based on hands-on use, I say so explicitly. When it’s based on research and synthesis, I say that too. I’d rather be clear about my sources than pretend to an authority I don’t have.
Why a parent’s perspective
A lot of people shopping for a Cozmo, Vector, Eilik, or Miko are parents weighing whether these are worth it as STEM and coding tools for their kids. That’s exactly the seat I’m sitting in. I teach my own son to code — Scratch and block-based programming to start, working toward Python — using platforms like Code Monkey and a steady diet of STEM games and projects. He loves it, and watching him learn has taught me a lot about what actually engages a kid versus what just looks good on a box.
So when I evaluate a companion robot, I’m not just reading a spec sheet. I’m asking the questions a parent asks: Will this hold a child’s attention past the first week? Does the coding component actually teach anything, or is it a gimmick? Is it age-appropriate? Is it worth the money?
Background
Outside of this site, I’m a technology enthusiast with hands-on experience across programming languages including Python and Scratch, block-based coding, AI prompt engineering, and SaaS development. I’m the founder of Marksman Digital Media, and I bring the same data-driven, test-what-you-can, document-your-sources mindset to everything I publish here.
If a recommendation on this site earns a commission through an affiliate link, that never changes the substance of what I write. The research comes first; the links come after.