Menlo Research · Other · Mid-size

Asimov 1

Name: Menlo Research Asimov 1
Brand: Menlo Research
Price: 20000 USD
Availability: PreOrder

Developer / demo platformConsumer availablePreorder

A 1.2-meter, 35kg open-source bipedal humanoid that ships as a $20,000 unassembled, 3D-printable kit, handing developers the full CAD, wiring and simulation model to build and train their own robot from the frame up.

$20,000

Verified last month

Deliver to

Delivered to United States: from ~$23,875(~€21,270)

About 15% since 24 Jul 2026: the 2.5% MFN base plus the Section 301 forced-labor duty, which CBP sets at 12.5% for Israel and Singapore and 10% for Canada. It is additive and an ordinary FTA rate does not zero it, with one real exception: goods of Canada or Mexico entered duty-free under USMCA are fully exempt from this action. Confirm the live rate and the ruled country of origin before ordering.

Where to buy Get delivered quotes

What is in the crate

9 included|4 not included

Hands

No hands, none offered

Asimov 1's arms are 5-DOF each (shoulder pitch/roll/yaw, elbow, wrist yaw) and end at the wrist with no hand or gripper. Menlo rates each arm at 5 kg continuous for a bicep curl (15 kg peak) and 6 kg for a lateral raise (18 kg peak), says manipulation is in active development, and has designed a common adapter wrist so that third-party hands or end effectors can be fitted.

In the crate

Structural frame and MJF/3D-printed body parts Actuators and motors (25 actuated DOF) Sensors: 2MP monocular head camera, stereo microphone array, 6-DOF IMU, motor joint-state encoders, 10W speaker Onboard compute: Raspberry Pi 5 (media/network) + Radxa CM5 (motion control) Battery, wiring harnesses, CAN bus cabling and spare parts Firmware, a baseline locomanipulation policy and a Python Client SDK (per Menlo's order FAQ) Assembly manual (Menlo lists assembly videos as coming soon) Open-source design package access: mechanical CAD, electrical schematics, MuJoCo simulation model, full bill of materials 90-day warranty on kit components and dedicated engineer support

You still have to add

An assembled robot (the kit ships unassembled with an estimated 20-hour build; Menlo says a pre-assembled option may be arranged through sales) Autonomy beyond a baseline locomanipulation policy (Menlo's order FAQ says one is included, while its GitHub roadmap still lists a locomotion policy as upcoming, so confirm what ships with your batch) Any turnkey out-of-the-box behavior; it is a research platform, not a consumer robot Warranty beyond 90 days or on the assembled robot (the limited warranty covers manufacturing defects in kit components only)

Day oneNothing works on arrival because it ships as an unassembled kit.

Reality check

This is a build-it-yourself research kit, not a finished robot: for $20,000 you get an unassembled bipedal platform with no hands, only a baseline movement policy and a 90-day component warranty, so unless your team can assemble and wire a CAN-bus/dual-compute robot and train RL policies in simulation, it will sit as a project rather than a working humanoid.

Can you get one, and what will it cost?

A planning estimate with machine, freight, duty, and tax shown separately.

Yes, with work

Yes, with work: importable into United States.

US authorization: We found no public FCC ID for this model. Since 28 July 2026 a foreign-made robot can be sold into the US only under an FCC authorization from before that date, so ask the seller for its FCC ID, or its Supplier's Declaration of Conformity dated before 28 July 2026, before you pay. Every humanoid you can still buy in the US

No hands, none offered

Spare batteries and other accessories are excluded. Confirm compatibility and pricing with the seller.

Machinebase: $20,000
Freightcrated: $674 - $1,137
Import duty15%: $3,000
Sales tax0%: 0
Broker and handling: $202 - $471
Import estimate to United States: $23,875 - $24,608

Converted from euros at 1.1225 USD per euro (ECB reference rate, 2 October 2026): €21,270 - €21,923 in euros.

Estimate, not a quote. Every rate is shown so the maths is auditable.

Lowest delivered price

~$23,875 - $24,608

Imported yourself from Menlo Research

Review the import requirements below before ordering.

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Import requirements for United StatesConformity, battery shipping, paperwork, and source documents. Review before ordering.

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Where to buy

Catalog checked 2026-10

Individuals and companies can inquire. Confirm the configuration, stock, and delivery with the seller.

Price notes: Menlo Research sells the Asimov 1 DIY kit for $20,000 in production batches: Batch 4 is forming now and is reserved with a $499 deposit, and Menlo says the final price may vary by destination country because of tariffs and shipping. Its order FAQ says kits ship worldwide within 30 to 60 days of full payment and are delivered duty paid to many destinations (it names the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Singapore and Australia), while its sale agreement still makes the buyer responsible for taxes and tariffs, so confirm the landed cost with sales. The price is close to the project's estimated bill-of-materials cost. No official EUR price is published; a rough conversion is about EUR 17,600. Self-sourcing from the fully open BOM can change the total cost either way.

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Get delivered quotes

Menlo Research (opens in a new tab)
International seller
Batch 4 forming: the Asimov 1 DIY kit at $20,000, reserved with a $499 deposit; final price may vary by destination. Menlo's FAQ says kits ship worldwide within 30 to 60 days of full payment, duty paid to many destinations including the US, UK, Germany and France (checked 5 Oct 2026).
$20,000
Listed purchase price
Self-build from the open BOM (opens in a new tab)
International seller
The full design (CAD, wiring, MuJoCo sim, BOM) is open-source under CERN-OHL-S-2.0 and GPL-2.0, so the parts can be sourced and printed locally with no kit and no import at all.
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Price not published

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 Asimov 1 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: 3/5; Baseline: any humanoid+1
Degrees of freedom: 25 DOF+1
Dexterity: no hands, none offered0
Scale: 120 cm tall+0.5
Payload: 5 kg+0.25
MaturitySales availability indicators: 3/5; How it sells: preorder+3

Key specifications

Height

120 cm

Width

n/a

Depth

n/a

Weight

35 kg

Degrees of freedom

Battery

n/a

Payload

5 kg

Top speed

n/a

Understand before you buy

Featured in

The maker's shares

All makers

Menlo Research: Private: its shares do not trade on any exchange.

Singapore-based lab (Menlo Research Pte Ltd) behind the open-source Asimov humanoid, which is sold as a kit. We found no funding round, investor list, listing or IPO plan, and the only funding statement found is an aggregator entry saying it has never raised.

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.

Asimov 1: 120 cm / 3 ft 11 in, 35 kg

What it does on day onewith zero programming

Nothing works on arrival because it ships as an unassembled kit: day one is a build project that Menlo estimates at about 20 hours (assemble the frame, actuators, wiring and dual-compute from the manual). Menlo's order FAQ now says the kit includes firmware, a baseline locomanipulation policy and a Python Client SDK, with joystick, VR or phone teleoperation, so a finished build can walk under your control; its GitHub roadmap still lists a locomotion policy as upcoming, so confirm what your batch ships with. Menlo's own demos show a fully built unit walking forward/backward and recovering from pushes, plus seeing, listening and speaking via its camera, mics and speaker.

Best for: Robotics researchers, labs and advanced hobbyists who want a hackable, fully open bipedal platform to train locomotion and manipulation policies, and who are comfortable assembling hardware and writing their own control stack.

Documented uses

Robotics R&D Learn and tinker Demo / showpiece

Menlo sells Asimov 1 as a humanoid for researchers and developers to run research, collect data and put on live demos, with an SDK and simulation configs.

It ships as a DIY kit with an estimated 20-hour build and no hands (manipulation is in development), and the kit warranty covers component defects for 90 days.

Source reviewed 2026-10-05

Assessment from published documentation, not an independent performance test. Applies to the configuration described above.

What it takes to developskills, gear, and SDK access

Substantial. Buyers assemble the robot from parts (about 20 hours by Menlo's estimate), then bring up software: the stack is Python-first with a MuJoCo simulation model and a Processor-in-the-Loop (PIL) pipeline for reinforcement-learning locomotion training. Menlo's tooling includes Uranus (behavior validation in simulation) and Cyclotron (training locomotion and manipulation policies). Menlo's order FAQ now lists a Python Client SDK, a high-level API/MCP for remote control and a low-level API that exposes raw robot state, alongside the open CAD, schematics, sim model and CAN-bus motor interface. Comfort with 3D printing, embedded Linux (Raspberry Pi 5 + Radxa CM5), CAN bus, RL/robotics simulation and Python is expected.

SDK access: Fully open-source: hardware under CERN-OHL-S-2.0 and software under GPL-2.0, with mechanical CAD, electrical wiring schematics, a MuJoCo simulation model and a complete bill of materials published on GitHub (github.com/menloresearch/asimov-1). Simulation and training tooling (Uranus for validation, Cyclotron for policy training) plus a PIL framework are available, and Menlo's order FAQ now lists a Python Client SDK, a high-level API/MCP and a low-level API as included; its GitHub roadmap still marks a locomotion policy and Asimov Edge as upcoming, and the mobile app from the earlier roadmap is not mentioned on the order page.

Sources and verificationchecked 2026-10

Sources

Price and availability verified 2026-10. Spotted a change? Tell us and we fix the listing.

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