robotindex Moorebot Scout
A Kickstarter-origin, Mecanum-wheeled home patrol robot marketed toward developers with Linux + ROS 1 access. Marketed autonomous SLAM mapping and full open APIs were, per independent developer reports, never fully delivered.
moorebot.com — Moorebot Scout →
Image: Moorebot (official)
Specs
Battery
18650 Li-ion~2 hr runtime; auto-dock unreliable per reviewers
Weight
350 g
Dimensions
11.5 × 10 × 8 cm
Connectivity
2.4/5GHz WiFiiOS/Android app, Alexa/Google Home
Camera
1080p, 120° FOVmechanical IR-cut night vision
Software
Linux + ROS 1not ROS 2; control layer open-sourced only
Navigation
Pre-driven pathsmarketed as "SLAM"; true SLAM never shipped per developers
Drive
4 Mecanum wheelsomnidirectional, ~2 km/h, 25° slopes
Modularity
Snap-on accessoriesplow, laser pointer, cat wand — sold separately
Subscription
Optional cloud add-onlocal storage (onboard flash/FTP-NAS) always free; cloud storage & push notifications need a monthly sub after a 3-month free trial — price not published
Reference Price
Officially listed at $199.99 (down from $219.99) on Moorebot's own site, which currently shows the product as sold out; also sold through Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.
Claims vs. Reality
The drive system is as advertised: four Mecanum wheels give true omnidirectional movement, clearing 15mm obstacles and 25° slopes. But marketing overstates the rest: it implies SLAM-style autonomous mapping, yet independent developer reports say full SLAM was never shipped — the robot only records rough pre-driven paths. Marketing also suggests ROS 2 support, but Moorebot's FAQ confirms only ROS 1.
Insights
Moorebot markets Scout's navigation as SLAM-style autonomous mapping with 24/7 patrol capability, but independent developer reports confirm true SLAM was never shipped — it only follows rough pre-driven paths and often fails to find its own charging dock. Marketing also implies full ROS 2 access, but Moorebot's own FAQ confirms the platform runs ROS 1, not ROS 2. The original Scout is also showing signs of being wound down: it's listed sold out directly on Moorebot's own site, and as of this writing (checked against a May 2025 EU clearance promotion, code 40OFFEU202505) Moorebot's homepage has shifted top billing to a newer "Scout E" model plus separate Zeus and Hugo product lines. None of this changes the hardware/software facts above, but it's reason enough to flag continued availability and support as uncertain rather than assume business-as-usual.
Firmware & Community
Pilot-Labs-Dev/Scout-open-source
Moorebot's own official open-source repository for Scout, covering its recognition and extension-framework code (the robot's core communication layer itself stays closed for security reasons).
Verified against Moorebot's own official site and FAQ (moorebot.com), the original Kickstarter campaign, Hackster.io's launch coverage, independent developer/enthusiast reports (We Speak IoT), and direct inspection of Pilot Labs' official open-source control-layer repo (confirmed MIT license) and the separate third-party community ROS driver project (confirmed Apache-2.0, confirmed unaffiliated). This page reports both the manufacturer's marketing claims and the independently-reported gap between those claims and real-world SLAM/ROS 2 functionality, since that gap is material to anyone evaluating this as a security device rather than a hobbyist toy. No mainstream tech-press review was found for this product. Moved to Under Review because the original Scout is sold out on Moorebot's own store and the company's homepage now foregrounds newer Scout E/Zeus/Hugo products — checked against Moorebot's own site as of this writing, including a May 2025 EU clearance promotion for Scout E.