Hanson Robotics · research humanoid
Zeno
A small walking boy robot with an expressive face made of Hanson's Frubber skin, used for research on human-robot interaction and on autism diagnosis and therapy. Its 36 DoF include 8 in the face, and its design was inspired by the child android David in Brian Aldiss's story 'Supertoys Last All Summer Long'.
- Price
- $14,750Cheaper than 68%
- Height
- 43 cmTaller than 0%
- Weight
- 2.7 kgHeavier than 0%
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
Not sure this is the one? Find the best robot for your job Starts with: care and hospitals. Five more quick questions.
Why it matters
A research humanoid from Hanson Robotics.
Real-world use
Autism research and therapy programmes (Robots4Autism)
Maker
Hanson RoboticsCompany · founded 2007 · Richardson, Texas, USA in 2007 (later Hong Kong)USD 1.5 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund grant (2006)
How it stacks up
Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Zeno is taller than 0% of the 305 other humanoids that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Zeno is heavier than 0% of the 277 other humanoids that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Zeno costs less than 68% of the 85 other humanoids that publish a price. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: speed, payload, joints, battery.
What it has been shown doing
1 of 14 skills we track, each from a public video or report. Demos can be staged or remote-controlled; we say so when the source does.
- Gets up after a fallearly Zeno could lie down and get up to standing (PC-controlled over wireless) · Sep 2007 · newatlas.com
Not shown yet:SortAssembleFoldKitchenToolsFineStairsTerrainRunJumpCarryOn siteAutonomous
Public attention
How much public attention Zeno gets, from open data.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- 3 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Walks on legs
- Actuators & motors
- Later research version: 36 DoF (arms 12, legs 12, waist 1, neck 3, face 8) using Dynamixel RX-64 servos in legs, hips and shoulders, RX-28 servos in the waist, and Hitec HS-65MG plus Cirrus micro servos to move the Frubber face. The 2007 prototype was described with more than 28 motors.
- Hands
- Small hands with grip-load sensors (later version).
- Sensors & vision
- Later version: an HD camera in each eye, 3-axis gyroscope, accelerometer and compass, 21 joint load and 30 joint position sensors, cliff, ground-contact, infrared and foot-bump sensors, and three microphones.
- Compute
- Later version: 1 GHz Vortex86DX CPU with 1 GB RAM, Wi-Fi and Ethernet. The 2007 prototype was driven wirelessly from an ordinary PC running a variant of Massive Software's AI.
- Battery & power
- Two 18.5 V lithium-ion packs, about 1 hour of operation (later version).
- Materials & build
- Face of Hanson's patented Frubber skin-like elastomer over a plastic and aluminium body.
- AI & software
- Linux (Ubuntu); 2007 demo used Massive Software's decision-making AI; later Robots4Autism versions added NSF-funded CompuCompassion emotion modelling for therapists.
- Other details
- Sizes differ by version: the 2007 prototype was reported at 17 inches (about 43 cm) and 6 lb.5 cm and 6.5 kg. Styled after Astro Boy. Later commercialised for autism therapy through RoboKind's Robots4Autism programme.
Named suppliers:ROBOTIS (Dynamixel)
Lineage
Every Hanson Robotics humanoid in order.
Watch Zeno
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- $14,750Research/therapy version listed at USD 14,750; a USD 200-300 consumer price floated in 2007 never materialised
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Sold or delivered
- Sold as a research and therapy platform; Hanson had floated a USD 200-300 consumer price in 2007 that did not materialise
- Where it is sold or used
- Richardson, Texas, USA (Hanson Robotics; later RoboKind)
- Customers and pilots
- Autism research and therapy programmes (Robots4Autism)
News
The latest 3, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- Zeno used to teach social skills in Robots4Autism
Easter Seals Tech described Zeno's expressive face, sensors and emotion-modelling software for autism social-skills sessions.
Easter Seals Tech - Zeno debuts at Wired NextFest
New Atlas reported Zeno's 28-plus motors, Massive Software AI and wireless PC control.
New Atlas - Lifelike boy robot to be shown to students
AP reported the 17-inch Frubber-faced prototype would appear at NextFest in Los Angeles and might one day sell for a few hundred dollars.
Associated Press via NBC News
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use