Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)ItalyergoCub
ergoCub is IIT and INAIL's research humanoid, standing 150 cm tall, weighing 55.7 kg, and designed to reduce physical strain on workers in industrial and hospital settings.
- Height
- 150cm4′11″Source
- Weight
- 56kg123 lbSource
- Payload
- 10kg22 lbSource
- Runtime
- Not disclosed
- Degrees of freedom
- 17DoFSource
- Top speed
- Not disclosed
1 real photosergoCub photos
credited to the maker or photographer
ergoCub videos
official and independent footageHow big is ergoCub?
ergoCub stands 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) and weighs 55.7 kg (123 lb), 25 cm shorter than a 175 cm adult.
ergoCub specs
official and sourced figures| Height | 150 cm (4 ft 11 in)source |
| Weight | 55.7 kg (123 lb)source |
| Payload | 10 kg (22 lb)source |
| Runtime | Not disclosed |
| Degrees of freedom | 17 DoFsource |
| Hand DoF | Not disclosed |
| Top speed | Not disclosed |
| Hands | No detailed hand specification or hand DoF count found in reviewed sources. |
| Sensors | Force Torque (F/T) sensors with inertial measurement units (IMUs), Intel RealSense depth camera, LiDAR for navigation, Joint encoders, motor current sensors, F/T sensors, inertial sensors |
| Compute | SteelReel AI reports onboard NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier and 11th-generation Intel Core i7; Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. |
Price and availability
from evidence packWhat the ergoCub can do
evidence by capability dimensionA peer-reviewed Nature Machine Intelligence figure shows ergoCub collaborating on a payload lifting task while adapting to a human partner; Emergent Mind describes 7-DoF arms plus 3-DoF torso control and hardware optimized for lifting. No fine-manipulation benchmarks or hand DoF were found.
Autonomous warehouse navigation is reported only in simulation. WMF live demonstrations are stated to include live teleoperation and autonomy demonstrations, but control mode for individual videos is not verified. No real-world autonomous task execution evidence was found.
The robot walked during a live demo on stage per a peer-reviewed figure and official IIT debut text mentions movement skills. Emergent Mind describes DNN-driven nonlinear MPC walking with step adjustment. No walking speed or fall data was published.
F/T sensors with IMUs, Intel RealSense depth camera, LiDAR, and multimodal sensor fusion are reported. Emergent Mind summarizes perception and sensor fusion work. No independent perception benchmark was found.
Human-aware collaboration is the core purpose. A peer-reviewed figure shows ergoCub monitoring a human's ergonomic state and adapting its motion during payload lifting. No quantitative HRI metrics were found.
No battery capacity, runtime, endurance test, or reliability data were found in reviewed sources.
ergoCub is 150 cm tall, weighs 55.7 kg, and is designed for industrial and hospital collaborative tasks. No safety certification or human-proximity standard compliance was found.
What is proven
source-backed highlights- Peer-reviewed Nature Machine Intelligence figure documents human-robot collaboration and walking (iit-ergocub_evidence_006, iit-ergocub_evidence_007).
- Official IIT announcement confirms 150 cm, 55.7 kg, and ergonomic workplace intent (iit-ergocub_evidence_001, iit-ergocub_evidence_002).
- Secondary technical summaries describe up to 43% energy reduction and DNN-driven locomotion research (iit-ergocub_evidence_008, iit-ergocub_evidence_010).
Caveats
read before you trust a demo- No price, lease, or purchase path found. ergoCub is a research prototype and not available to the public
- No battery capacity, runtime, walking speed, total DoF, hand DoF, or price.
- No named customer deployment or independent verification.
- Autonomy is simulation-only or title-only; no intervention logs or autonomous task execution evidence.
About the ergoCub
summary from sourced evidenceergoCub is IIT and INAIL's research humanoid, standing 150 cm tall, weighing 55.7 kg, and designed to reduce physical strain on workers in industrial and hospital settings. Its strongest evidence is a peer-reviewed Nature Machine Intelligence figure showing collaborative payload lifting with a human and live walking on stage. Official IIT sources confirm the 2023 debut and ergonomic purpose, while secondary dossiers report about 10 kg load-bearing, NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier plus Intel i7 onboard compute, depth/LiDAR sensing, and research claims such as up to 43% energy reduction and DNN-driven locomotion. However, no battery, runtime, walking speed, total DoF, hand DoF, price, or customer deployment exists in the reviewed evidence; autonomy is mostly simulation-only or title-only
Evidence log
tiered public claimsergoCub alternatives
all alternatives →| Robot | Status | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype | Not for sale | ||
| Purchasable | From €22,500 | ||
| Purchasable | CN¥88,000 | ||
| Purchasable | From CN¥158,000 | ||
| Purchasable | $80,000 | ||
| Purchasable | Reported $70,000 |
ergoCub FAQ
answers from sourced dataHow much does the ergoCub cost?
Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) has not published a price for the ergoCub. It is not offered for sale to the public.
Can you buy the ergoCub?
No. The ergoCub is not sold to the public.
How tall is the ergoCub?
The ergoCub is 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) tall according to Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)'s published specs.
How much does the ergoCub weigh?
It weighs 55.7 kg (123 lb) according to official specs.
Who makes the ergoCub?
The ergoCub is made by Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), based in Italy.
Is the ergoCub autonomous or teleoperated?
Public demos of the ergoCub are marked "partially disclosed" in our evidence review. Treat promotional footage as unverified unless the company states how it was controlled.
Sources
7 references- A new robot for the first 20 years of IIT - Talk iit · IIT OpenTalk
- The ergoCub robot, a humanoid robot developed to minimize workers’... · ResearchGate (Nature Machine Intelligence figure)
- ErgoCub Humanoid Robot · Emergent Mind
- Ergocub | Divya Shah · Divya Shah (IIT)
- Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) ErgoCub Technical Dossier | SteelReel AI · SteelReel AI
- Meet Ergocub: Robot that can do all your heavy lifting · YouTube A News
- Italian humanoid robot ergoCub makes its US debut · YouTube KINO Club