Italian Institute of Technology · Open-source research humanoid
iCub
A child-sized, fully open-source research humanoid: 104cm, 53 degrees of freedom, and more than 50 units built for labs worldwide since 2004.
- Height
- 1.04 m
- Weight
- ≈33 kg with battery
- Degrees of freedom
- 53 DOF
- Units built
- 50+ worldwide
Availability
Not a commercial product. Over 50 units have been built by research groups since the RobotCub project began, coordinated by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa, with labs running iCubs across Europe, the US, Korea, Singapore and Japan.
Pricing and availability verified July 24, 2026. Robot pricing moves faster than the hardware does — confirm on the manufacturer's own page before ordering.
Where to buy
There is no way to buy the iCub at present. Not sold as a product. iCub is open-source hardware and software distributed under GPL — a lab builds or commissions a unit from the published designs rather than buying one off a price list.
Strengths and limitations
What works
- Fully open-source hardware and software, unusual among humanoids
- Over two decades of published research built on the same platform
- Child-sized proportions purpose-built for cognitive development research
- Active user community across labs on four continents
What does not
- Not sold — a lab has to build or commission one from open designs
- 104cm scale makes it unsuitable for any manipulation or logistics task
- No commercial support contract the way a vendor-sold robot has
- Hardware dates to a 2004 design, dated next to newer research platforms
iCub in pictures
Full specifications
Overview
| Type | Child-sized bipedal humanoid |
|---|---|
| Maker | Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Genoa |
| Project origin | RobotCub project, EU-funded, from 2004 |
| Coordinators | Giorgio Metta and Giulio Sandini |
| Intended use | Cognitive development and embodied-AI research |
Body
| Height | 1.04 m |
|---|---|
| Weight | ≈30 kg without battery, ≈33 kg with |
| Design intent | Proportioned like a 3-4 year old child |
Actuation
| Degrees of freedom | 53 |
|---|---|
| Capabilities | Crawling, sitting, grasping, reaching |
Software
| Licensing | Open-source hardware and software, GPL |
|---|---|
| Middleware | YARP (Yet Another Robot Platform) |
| Deployment | 50+ units across labs in Europe, US, Korea, Singapore, Japan |
iCub news and updates
iCub remains a standard platform for embodied-cognition research
Two decades after the RobotCub project began, iCub continues to underpin published research in cognitive robotics and embodied AI, with new labs building units from the open hardware designs.
Source: Italian Institute of Technology ↗
Frequently asked questions
Can you buy an iCub?
Not in the usual sense. iCub's hardware and software are open-source under GPL, so a research lab builds or commissions a unit from the published designs rather than purchasing one from a price list.
Why is iCub child-sized?
It was deliberately built at roughly the proportions of a 3-4 year old child to study cognitive development — how a body that size learns to reach, grasp and balance — which is the RobotCub project's original research goal.
iCub alternatives
The robots most often weighed against the iCub — closest first on how you buy one, who makes it and what it costs.
- Tesla OptimusTesla · General-purpose humanoidQuote onlyInternal use onlyiCub vs Tesla Optimus →
- Figure 03Figure AI · Commercial humanoidQuote onlyCommercial pilotsiCub vs Figure 03 →
- Boston Dynamics AtlasBoston Dynamics · Electric research humanoidQuote onlyPilot deploymentsiCub vs Boston Dynamics Atlas →