Qihan Technology · retail humanoid
Sanbot Elf
A 90 cm wheeled service robot with a rounded head, a chest screen and two short swinging arms, sold for reception, retail and security work. It talks with visitors, navigates on its own and can stream video.
- Price
- $5,000Cheaper than 87%
- Height
- 90 cmTaller than 6%
- Weight
- 19 kgHeavier than 8%
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- 4 hRuns longer than 45%
Not sure this is the one? Find the best robot for your job Starts with: greet and guide customers. Five more quick questions.
Why it matters
Sanbot Elf is on the market today.
Real-world use
About ten units were put to work at China's Gongbei port of entry in 2016 answering travellers' questions in 28 languages and flagging suspicious behaviour for customs.
Maker
Qihan TechnologyCompany · founded 2006 · Shenzhen, ChinaHow it stacks up
Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Sanbot Elf is taller than 6% of the 305 other humanoids that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Sanbot Elf is heavier than 8% of the 277 other humanoids that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Sanbot Elf runs longer than 45% of the 119 other humanoids that publish a battery. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Sanbot Elf costs less than 87% of the 85 other humanoids that publish a price. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: speed, payload, joints.
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.
- Works on sitecompany says Sanbot is already deployed in China at sites from retail stores to airports · Sep 2016 · techcrunch.com
Not shown yet:SortAssembleFoldKitchenToolsFineStairsTerrainGet upRunJumpCarryAutonomous
Public attention
How much public attention Sanbot Elf gets, from open data.
- 312 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Sanbot)
- 2 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
- about 70,000 units or vehicles reported by the maker or press (may be a company-wide total)
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
- Wheeled base
- Actuators & motors
- Three omni wheels (top speed about 2.9 km/h), motorised head and two short flipper arms.
- Hands
- No hands; flipper arms (an updated version with articulated hands was announced for China in 2016).
- Sensors & vision
- Head: 7 microphones, 2 RGB cameras (Sony front cameras), a 3D depth sensor, 7 touch sensors; gyroscope, electronic compass, infrared obstacle sensors and touch sensors in body, hands and base. HD projector in the back of the head.
- Battery & power
- 20 Ah / 300 W lithium-ion; about 4 hours at full load, over 10 hours standby.
- Materials & build
- 90.2 cm tall, 19 kg; 10.1-inch 1080p touchscreen (Sharp) on the chest.
- AI & software
- Open APIs based on ROS plus an Android SDK; cloud AI; IBM Watson integration and Nuance voice recognition in some versions; customs version handled 25 languages.
- Other details
- Sold largely under a robots-as-a-service model in China. Uses included customs and airport service (Gongbei port, Shenzhen Bao'an airport), retail, hospitals, security and education.
Named suppliers:ROS (Open Robotics)
From the maker
Sanbot Elf is the only humanoid from Qihan Technology in the atlas.
Watch Sanbot Elf
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- $5,000Hardware about USD 5,000 in China (The Robot Report, Nov 2016); TechCrunch quoted 45,000 yuan (about USD 6,000); also offered as robots-as-a-service
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Built
- In production since 2015; Qihan claimed more than 70,000 units delivered in China (2016)
- Sold or delivered
- Company-reported 70,000+ delivered in China by late 2016
- Where it is sold or used
- Shenzhen, China
- Customers and pilots
- Chinese customs and two Chinese airports, government departments and hospitals (as reported)
News
The latest 2, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- Qihan readies Sanbot for the US
The Robot Report said Sanbot hardware cost about USD 5,000 in China, over 70,000 had been delivered there, and a US launch was planned around CES 2017.
The Robot Report - Sanbot debuts outside China at IFA
TechCrunch described the sensor-laden wheeled robot, priced at 45,000 yuan, as it sought European service customers at IFA Berlin.
TechCrunch
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every humanoid: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose
| Measure |  Sanbot ElfQihan Technology |  EMIEW3HitachiSame jobs: retail, social · Both on wheels · Both on sale or in pilots · Similar size |  Promobot V4PromobotSame jobs: retail, social · Both on wheels · Both on sale or in pilots |
|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2016-09-02 | 2016-04-08 | 2018-01 |
| Status | Commercial | Pilot use | Commercial |
| Height | 90 cm | 90 cm | — |
| Weight | 19 kg | 15 kg | — |
| Joints | — | 23 | — |
| Speed | — | 6 km/h | — |
| Payload | — | — | — |
| Battery | 4 h | — | — |
| Price | $5,000 | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from public sources. 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