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Robert, the robot you keep breaking

On the Facility map you walk up to a robot named Robert. The game gives no hint about what he wants, and the most common forum question about him is some version of why he died when all you did was touch him. Players have worked out the basic choice, drawn below.

Two ways past Robert

What happens if you ignore or interact with RobertIf you walk past Robert without clicking, hovering or playing a card on him, players say the next fight is ordinary enemies. If you interact with him in any way, he breaks down, a message says you learned something, and the next fight is his family. Players connect those interactions to card unlocks.Roberta robot in the FacilityWalk on byno click, no hover, no cardOrdinary enemiesthe fight goes on as normalTouch him at allhe breaks downHis family attacksone player adds card unlocksno reported way to fix him yet
Both branches are players' reports from the Steam forum and Reddit, linked in the sections below. No one has posted a way to repair him, and the developers have not described the encounter.

Leaving him alone

One player spelled out the careful version: “Just walk on by, don’t click, don’t mouse over, don’t use a card on Robert.” Their result: “Then the next enemies are standard enemies.” (both in Steam discussion: Robert's family loves him) A Reddit reply in the Robert thread describes the same split between ignoring him and interacting.

A blue ribbed tunnel with a hand holding up a card marked W
A blue ribbed tunnel, with a hand holding up a card marked W. Frame from Shroom and Gloom | Emerging Into Early Access on September 10, on the DevolverDigital YouTube channel.

That matters mostly when a run is fragile. If you are low on health heading into the Facility, skipping him keeps the next fight predictable. Players’ healing tips for the stretch between fights, including the vending machine, are in the Janitor guide.

Touching him

Any interaction seems to count. The same player, in another thread: “if you fiddle with him at all the “you gain knowledge” pop-up happens and you have to fight his friends.” (in Steam discussion: Card Unlocks?) A different player: “If you do interact, the next wave of enemies are “roberts family” instead of normal goo.” (in Steam discussion: Any insight into the robot you can interact with after camp in facility?)

People have tried to be gentle and failed. “No matter what I do it seems to kill him, not fix him??” asked one, adding “I’ve tried reveal and break on him and those both just trigger combat.” (both in Steam discussion: Love the game, hate the janitor) On Reddit the thread starter tried an ignite-and-reveal card with the same outcome, and another player reported that Robert then showed up in the next fight himself (reply). A player asking whether he can ever turn out well had tried reveal, which killed him and brought his family, and a reply added that feeding him makes his family angry too (both in Steam discussion: What does "There is more to be discovered here..." on an obstacle mean?). Break, reveal, fix and the rest of the explore verbs are explained in the beginner guide.

Everything players tried on him

Cards players played on Robert and what happenedPlayers report playing Reveal, Break, feeding him, and an Ignite or Reveal card on Robert. Every one of these ended the same way: he broke down and the next fight was against his family.Revealtwo forum playersBreaka forum playerFeeda forum replyIgnite or Reveal carda Reddit playerHe breaks downand his family is the next fightnobody has reported a card that repairs him
Each card on the left is one reported attempt, cited in the text. None of them is reported to fix him.

Why break him on purpose

Cards. The clearest claim: “You unlock at least two packs of cards by interacting with Robert in different ways.” The same poster adds that “once you interact with him in a certain way, you don’t need to interact with him in the same way again.” (both in Steam discussion: Robert's family loves him) All of that comes from a single player, so treat it as unconfirmed. They repeat the idea in another thread: “If you check the Janitor unlocked cards, one of them is the card obtained from the Robert encounter.” (in Steam discussion: Card Unlocks?)

So a sensible pattern is to break him on healthy runs, trying a different kind of card each time, and walk past him when a run is on the edge. Where card unlocks show up for each character is on characters and unlocks, and the full pool is on the cards page.