RB-Y1 vs DRC-HUBO+
Rainbow Robotics RB-Y1, Rainbow Robotics DRC-HUBO+ compared on the things that decide a purchase: price, capability, what actually ships, and estimated costs to your destination.
Delivered price, head to head
No delivered price to United States for these machines yet.
Rainbow Robotics
RB-Y1
No delivered price
No recorded shipping route to United States.
Rainbow Robotics
DRC-HUBO+
Not orderable
Research access only; confirm procurement directly.
Nothing here can be priced delivered to United States today. Each robot's datasheet says why, and the concierge can check whether a sourcing route exists.
Compare the details
20 rows, 17 with differences
Scroll within the table to see all details. Model names and row labels stay visible. Unknown specifications remain marked as not published.
| Specification |  Rainbow Robotics RB-Y1 |  Rainbow Robotics DRC-HUBO+ |
|---|---|---|
| Priced configuration | See seller configuration | See seller configuration |
| Listed price | $80,000 | Price on request |
| Class | Dev / demo | Frontier |
| Who can buy | Consumer | Not for sale |
| Status | Shipping now | Research institutions |
| Capability rating | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Maturity rating | 5/5 | 2/5 |
| Origin | South Korea | South Korea |
| Size class | Wheeled base | Full-size |
| Height | 140 cm / 4 ft 7 in | 170 cm / 5 ft 7 in |
| Footprint (W x D) | 58 x 66 cm | 59 x ? cm |
| Weight | 131 kg | 80 kg |
| Degrees of freedom | 24 | 31 |
| Battery (listed) | 180 min | Not published |
| Payload (listed) | 6 kg | 15 kg |
| Hands | Hands sold separately | Grippers, not dexterous hands |
| Out of the box | Scripted dual-arm manipulation demos with a whole-body control API. Teleoperation and grasping depend on the options you order: Rainbow lists the gripper, the Tele-Op VR device and the touch pad and joystick as expansion options. No out-of-box task autonomy; bought as an embodied-AI research base, popular for imitation-learning datasets. | Nothing consumer-friendly. This is a teleoperated research humanoid: an operator drives it through the PODO framework to walk, transform onto its knee wheels, turn valves, use power tools, open doors, and climb stairs and debris. It does not do anything useful autonomously and there is no plug-and-play application layer. |
| Development access | Development kit with API and simulator (2025); more open than US B2B humanoids, though docs are partly Korean-first. | Serious robotics engineering. You work in the PODO real-time control framework on a Xenomai/Linux real-time OS, with Gazebo for simulation and a ROS bridge for higher-level planning. Expect to write low-level motion, balance, and teleoperation code. There is no beginner path and no modern managed SDK. |
| Best for | Manipulation and imitation-learning labs that want a stable wheeled dual-arm platform. | Robotics historians, museums, and legacy research labs studying the machine that won the DARPA Robotics Challenge. Not for buyers who want a working robot delivered. |
| Listing checked | 2026-10: sources for Rainbow Robotics RB-Y1 | 2026-09: sources for Rainbow Robotics DRC-HUBO+ |
Listed prices may cover different configurations and tax terms. Use the delivered estimates above for your destination. Battery and payload figures are manufacturer specifications, not results from a shared test.
RB-Y1
In the box
- RB-Y1 dual-arm wheeled base robot (140 cm, 24 DOF)
- Battery (~3h runtime)
- Development kit/software
Not included
- Legs (wheeled base)
- End effectors: the 2-finger gripper is a listed option, and dexterous-hand options are mentioned without a published spec
- Teleoperation devices: the Tele-Op VR device and the touch pad and joystick are expansion options, and the leader arm is its own device in Rainbow's Leader Arm Series
- A vision camera (Rainbow provides the bracket only)
- Autonomy software (bring your own AI)
DRC-HUBO+
In the box
- The full-size transforming humanoid: 7-DOF arms, legs with knee wheels and foot casters
- Purpose-built power grippers (not dexterous five-finger hands)
- PODO real-time motion-control framework running on a Xenomai/Linux real-time OS
- Onboard sensing: LiDAR on a servo, cameras, ankle 6-axis force/torque sensors, IMU/gyros
- Air-cooling system and custom high-current motor drivers
Not included
- Any published price or a way to actually buy one (bespoke, effectively unavailable new)
- Dexterous five-finger hands (the DRC hands are simple high-force grippers, not manipulators)
- Autonomy: it is teleoperated for disaster tasks, not self-driving
- A supported modern commercial SDK or warranty (this is a 2015 research platform, not a current product line)
- Consumer support, a spare-parts pipeline, or documentation you would expect from a shipping robot
What the evidence tells you
- Highest capability rating
- RB-Y1 and DRC-HUBO+ share 4/5 (tied).
- Highest maturity rating
- RB-Y1: 5/5.
- Lowest listed weight
- DRC-HUBO+: 80 kg.
Capability and maturity are editorial ratings based on specifications and sales availability. They do not measure reliability, autonomy, or performance on your task. Each datasheet shows the scoring factors.