Barding for robots?

[Superpossu]

Tech class playtest says this about robot companions:

Tech Class Playtest p. 16 wrote:

Robot companions follow all the same rules as animal companions, with the following changes.

Rules for young animal companions include the following (emphasis mine):

Player Core p. 206 wrote:

Your animal companion is trained in its unarmed attacks, unarmored defense, barding (a type of armor for animals), all saving throws, Perception, Acrobatics, and Athletics.

Nothing in the playtest explicitly says that robot companions can't wear barding, but the Armor Plates customization implies that robots don't have separate armor, just customizations that fill the same role.

Should buying better armor for robot companions be possible (outside of using customizations)?

[QuidEst]

I don't think Armor Plates implies that. It's a lot more accessible at low levels with no strength requirement, it doesn't care about Dex mod, and it doesn't weigh a bunch of bulk.

[QuidEst]

That's pretty insidious, adding spam links in the quoted text of replies. Just giving a heads-up to the person responding to the flag because I almost missed it.