What is a humanoid robot?

Humanoid, robot or android?

Every humanoid robot is a robot, and most robots are not humanoids. The word describes the body, not the intelligence of the machine or how much of its work it does on its own.

A humanoid is not defined by autonomy. A remote-controlled robot with a human body plan is a humanoid; a warehouse cart that finds its own way is not.

Four body forms

Robopear groups each model by the form factor its maker publishes. The form decides where a robot can go and what it is bought for, and the forms differ in how many models carry a public price.

One legged research platform without a torso and arms (LimX Dynamics TRON 1) is listed next to the humanoids and counted apart.

What is not a humanoid robot

These robots stay out of the humanoid count, even when they walk or run AI models:

• Quadrupeds: four-legged robots such as robot dogs.
• Industrial and collaborative arms: a single arm fixed to a cell, a table or a cart.
• Autonomous mobile robots: warehouse carts, delivery robots and cleaning robots without arms or a torso.
• Exoskeletons: a frame that a person wears.

The rule follows the body plan, not the size or the price, so small educational bipeds are included and labelled with their height. The inclusion rule is set out in the methodology.

How many humanoid robots are there?

Robopear tracks 122 humanoid models from 79 makers in 16 countries on 20 Oct 2026. China 71, United States 20, Japan 5, and South Korea 4 lead the count.

These are models, not units. Of the 122, 77 rest on the maker's claim alone, 14 have been demonstrated, 17 are piloting at a named customer and 14 have evidence of units delivered. Each level needs its own evidence, defined on the verification policy. Unit counts come from companies and analyst firms that do not agree with each other; the shipments page lists them with their owners.

Can you buy a humanoid robot today?

Yes, a small number. On 20 Oct 2026, 14 models have a list price in a vendor store or price list, 6 take pre-orders at a stated price and 1 is rented by the month. 53 are sold only on quote and 48 have no published price.

The lowest list price, $600, belongs to Hiwonder TonyPi, a 0.373 m educational biped. Full-size bipeds with a list price start at $17,932 (UBTECH UWORLD U1). The highest list price is $69,999 for Galaxea R1.

The full price registry with every configuration is on humanoid robot prices. To compare buying with a monthly fee over several years, use the cost calculator.

Do humanoid robots act on their own?

Some do parts of a task on their own, many demonstrations are remote-controlled or scripted, and most makers do not say which. Robopear records the control mode only when a named source states it. How to tell the modes apart: autonomous or teleoperated.

The oldest models in the records

The oldest model with a full card is Honda ASIMO, announced on 20 Nov 2000 and now discontinued. Aldebaran Pepper followed in 2014, Toyota T-HR3 followed in 2017 and Agility Digit (gen 4) followed in 2019. 75 of the 122 models were announced in 2023 or later.

Questions

What is the difference between a robot and a humanoid?

A robot is any machine that senses its surroundings and acts under computer control. A humanoid is a robot built in the shape of a person, with a torso, a head and two arms, on legs or on wheels. Industrial arms, robot vacuums and four-legged robots are robots but not humanoids.

Is Sophia a humanoid robot?

Yes. Robopear lists Sophia by Hanson Robotics as an upper-body humanoid, a humanoid without legs. Hanson Robotics offers it on request and publishes no price (checked 20 Oct 2026).

Sources

• Every value in the tables links to its source with the date it was checked: vendor store product feeds and pages, customer statements and filings.
• The term “humanoid robot” is anchored to the Wikidata class Q584529 (CC0). No encyclopedia text is reproduced.
• Counts are computed from the Robopear database on 20 Oct 2026: open data, rules in the methodology.

Related