This was a great story, it really made me think! It took me a while to get to the end, I ran into a glitch that would occasionally trap me in year 2021.
Can a robot be a friend? It's a very interesting question. I think the answer very much depends on how you would define "friend", and "robot". I think it can!
If this were to happen to me, I would not throw Robo away afterwards. Probably, I would keep them around in the hopes that I could save them someday.