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HumanoidMenlo Research (Asimov)2026SG

Asimov 1

1.2 m, 35 kg open-source biped with 25 actuated DOF, sold as an unassembled DIY kit or self-sourced from the published BOM and CAD.

activeKitL1 Compiledbuildable

Difficulty index

11.8/13
11.8
Index breakdown
Classhumanoid+5
Cost$20k list+2.3
DOF25 DOF+2.5
Parts969 parts+2
How the index works

Top of the ladder. This robot lives on the humanoid domains.

Specimen photographs

5 items
  • Asimov 1 studio render, three-quarter front view
    Studio render of the published MJCF, the model's zero pose. Geometry only; colours are the model's own materials.Rendered by Hyperspawn from menloresearch/asimov-1 (CERN-OHL-S-2.0) · Hyperspawn render · source
  • Asimov 1 studio render, side view
    Side view of the same MJCF render, the model's zero pose.Rendered by Hyperspawn from menloresearch/asimov-1 (CERN-OHL-S-2.0) · Hyperspawn render · source
  • 4 s turntable of the MJCF studio render.Rendered by Hyperspawn from menloresearch/asimov-1 (CERN-OHL-S-2.0) · Hyperspawn render · source
  • Asimov v1 humanoid, dark shell, against an orange background
    From the asimov-1 README.Menlo Research (asimov-1) · CERN-OHL-S-2.0 · source
  • We're open-sourcing Asimov v1, a humanoid robotAsimov · official video, embedded · source

Spec card

8/13 known
Degrees of freedom
25
Height
120 cm
Mass
35 kg
Price
$20k · DIY kit $20,000 shipping (README); announced Mar 2026 at $15,000 target with $499 deposit
Part count
969
Actuators
CAN-bus actuators; 6 DOF/leg, 5 DOF/arm, 1 waist, 2 neck; RSU ankle with passive toes
Compute
Raspberry Pi 5 (media/network) + Radxa CM5 (motion control)
Sensors
2MP monocular camera, stereo mic array, 6-DOF IMU, joint states

Not in the registry: payload, speed, runtime, battery, bom total. Left blank rather than guessed.

What you learn building it

  • +Whole-body control
  • +Dozens of actuators on one bus
  • +Balance and fall handling
  • +Safe bring-up of a full-size machine
  • +CNC machining: 43 parts
  • +SLS printing (usually a print service): 55 parts
  • +Tools used: metric Allen keys 2/2.5/3/4/5/6 mm (included), Phillips screwdriver, flush cutters, wire strippers, heat gun, soldering iron + third hand, digital multimeter, masking/paper tape +6
  • +14 assembly steps across 8 subassemblies
  • +Flashing firmware for Radxa CM5 on RPU (asimov-rpu-v<version>.img.xz via rkdeveloptool, RK3588 SPL loader v1.15.113), Raspberry Pi 5 (asimov-rpi-v<version>.img.xz via Raspberry Pi Imager manifest), 25 Encos EC-A actuators (CAN ID assignment via dashboard)
  • +Testing in simulation (URDF/MJCF) before touching hardware

Openness

70/100
  • publicCAD
  • not publicBOM
  • publicFirmware
  • publicSim model
  • publicSoftware
  • not publicPolicies

Score 70/100 computed from what is public: CAD 25, BOM 20, sim 20, firmware 15, software 10, policies 10. Hardware license: CERN-OHL-S-2.0. Software license: GPL-2.0.

Repos & models

URDF ↗MJCF ↗
SiteDocsBuy

Build it

Has an ORP build package.
Build it on humanoidrobot.build ↗CAD (98 STEP files) and assembly docs are public; the full BOM is only sent on request, so the build package is reconstructed from docs.

Simulate

Load it in the browser simulator and train a policy before building.

Open on humanoidrobots.training ↗

Next rung

None. This is the top. Find people building it on humanoidrobots.team.

This is the top of the ladder.

NoteKit announced Mar 2026; CAD and sim model open-sourced Apr 2026; shipments reported from Aug 2026. Hands not included in the kit. Build pages send buyers to the maker's own kit first. Repo asimovinc/asimov-v1 redirects to menloresearch/asimov-1. bom=false: docs gate the BOM behind a request form. policies=false: the locomotion policy ships inside the RPU firmware image, not as a separate published file.

Sources

  1. [1]Official repo READMEchecked 2026-09-24
  2. [2]Humanoids Daily kit launchchecked 2026-09-24
  3. [3]eWeek (Singapore-based)checked 2026-09-24