When the streets of Los Angeles flooded with rain last week, some of the city’s residents found themselves feeling sorry for a peculiar object: a food delivery robot floundering in water and debris.

I like wireless earbuds because I love music. It’s very straightforward; music exists, and I want to listen to it, and wireless earbuds are the thing that gets me to the thing I love. Problem solved.

This year was dismal for home robots, but that’s not deterring Japanese startup Groove X from announcing the Lovot, an adorable and cuddly robot designed to manipulate your emotions. I mean, look at ...