Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) · European Union · Compact
IIT iCub
A child-sized Italian research humanoid, open source down to its full-body electronic skin, built one at a time by IIT to push embodied AI, manipulation, and telexistence.
€250,000
Verified last monthWhat is in the crate
8 included|5 not included
Dexterous hands included
Five-fingered anthropomorphic hands ship as standard, driven by 9 motors with 9 DOF each and tactile sensors on the fingertips, with independent control of thumb, index, and middle fingers plus a 3-DOF wrist. Hands are a defining feature of the platform, not an upsell. A standalone iCub hand can also be purchased separately.
In the crate
Reality check
This is a roughly quarter-million-euro open-source research platform sold at cost to labs, not a product: it does nothing autonomously out of the box, and you need a robotics team writing YARP/C++ to make it move.
Can you get one, and what will it cost?
A planning estimate with machine, freight, duty, and tax shown separately.
You cannot order the IIT iCub today: it is b2b only.
This machine only exists inside company pilot programs today. Register your interest below and we will tell you the moment a route opens.
Import requirements for United StatesConformity, battery shipping, paperwork, and source documents. Review before ordering.
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Open the import referenceAvailability
Catalog checked 2026-09
Research institutions only. Confirm eligibility and configuration with the maker.
Price notes: IIT builds units at cost with no profit margin. Indicative pricing: full iCub robot approximately EUR 250,000, upper body approximately EUR 200,000, head approximately EUR 40,000. Exact price depends on version/configuration and is set by quotation (contact info@icub.org). USD equivalent not officially published.
No seller listing is recorded. Check the sources below for the maker’s latest information.
Prices remain in the seller’s listed currency. Tax, freight, options, and rental periods follow each seller’s terms. A seller’s region does not guarantee delivery to your address.
How the IIT iCub rates
Editorial ratings based on listed specifications and sales availability. They do not measure task performance, autonomy, or reliability.
- Class
- Developer / demo platformA platform for demonstrations or robotics development. SDK access and supported tasks depend on the exact configuration.
- CapabilityHardware specification indicators
- 4/5
- Baseline: any humanoid+1
- Degrees of freedom: 53 DOF+2
- Dexterity: dexterous hands included+1
- Scale: 105 cm tall0
Key specifications
Height
105 cm
Width
n/a
Depth
n/a
Weight
33 kg
Degrees of freedom
53
Battery
n/a
Payload
n/a
Top speed
n/a
Understand before you buy
Featured in
You cannot buy the IIT iCub yet
It is sold to businesses by contract only. Register your interest and we will tell you the moment there is a route to get one.
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Size to scale
Drawn next to a 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) person. Every robot on the site uses this same reference, so you can trust the comparison at a glance.
IIT iCub: 105 cm / 3 ft 5 in, 33 kg
What it does on day onewith zero programming
Nothing autonomous. Out of the box it powers on and runs the open-source YARP middleware and iCub demos; every behavior (crawling, walking, reaching, grasping, facial expression) must be programmed or teleoperated. It is a cognition and manipulation research testbed, not a robot that does a job on day one.
Best for: University and corporate research labs studying embodied cognition, whole-body control, dexterous manipulation, human-robot interaction, and avatar/teleoperation, that have a C++/robotics team and a six-figure grant budget.
What it takes to developskills, gear, and SDK access
Expert-level robotics engineering. Development is in C++ on the open-source YARP middleware (BSD-3) with the robotology/iCub software stack, running on Linux/Windows/macOS. A ROS-YARP bridge exists. Realistically requires an experienced robotics/controls team; there is no low-code or no-code path.
SDK access: Fully open source under GPL/LGPL (robot software) with YARP middleware under BSD-3-Clause. Code is in C++ (Python bindings and a pyCub simulation framework exist). Actively maintained on GitHub under the robotology organization, with Gazebo/simulation support so you can develop without hardware.
Sources and verificationchecked 2026-09
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